Lost in the Darkness: Oathkeeper
by mettablade
Summary: A world quite simular to where he once resided in. A world where nobody remembers him. Torn between the boundaries of existence and nonexistence, Axel searches desperately for Roxas in a strange world just to find out that he no longer remembers him.
1. Prologue: Meeting

Lost in the Darkness – Oathkeeper 

A/N: Eh, this is my first Kingdom Hearts story. It's a bit AU, and it comes after KH2…I hope you enjoy…I think…

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Prologue – Meeting

The murky waters stirred as a single drop of pure water fell into its depths. It continued diving through, even as bits of it slowly melded away with the darkness. A light in the shadows. Gold eyes peered from out of the dark, just to be relinquished by a burst of fire. A single light illuminated the dark.

The moon, all alone in the darkened sky shone down on a single person walking through the water.

"Where are you…"

The only words that had came out of the pale stranger's mouth ever since he had arrived here.

Several times he had thought he had seen the faintest sign of him, a small flicker of light that quickly vanished, leaving him alone once more.

The water had soaked up quickly in his garments, but that wasn't what mattered.

His reflection was blurred, and was shadowed black in the darkness.

The flickering lights far off in the distance were warm and welcoming, even though he knew he couldn't feel the happiness welling up inside of him for reals.

He had to pretend…

As he stepped on the moist dirt, he felt a small twinge of satisfaction – or was it just his imagination? Well, whatever it was, he was getting closer to his destination… Where was it though?

A town. He didn't know what it was or where he was, but it was a town, it meant safety and comfort for some, and danger for others. It was a pity that was what the people there strived to do.

A small knife came shooting behind him, cutting off a small strand of his crimson hair. Cursing under his breath, but quickly reacting, he pulled himself into a battle stance. Moving his hands outward, black spiraling shadows curled around his arms, and sharp lethal chakrams formed in his hands.

The attacks had stopped temporarily, until suddenly thousands of arrows came spiraling down at the earth he stood on. Without hesitation, he made a deliberate movement, and thousands of flames flew up, wrapped around each arrow, and burnt them to a crisp.

He couldn't help but laugh silently to himself. The feelings returned again. Snapping his mouth shut, he quickly exterminated it. After all, it had been those that had made him lose someone dear. And himself.

And how did he survive?

Maybe he was dead…

But he was still alive.

Quickly ignoring his confusion, he vanished from the ground as more arrows came flying down. Yes, he had spotted the source.

Several kids were on the rooftops, bow and arrows in hand.

_It would seem as if nobody has taught them manners…_ he thought. _Guess it's time to teach them some._

The kids were obviously confused, wondering where their strange target had gone. Fire, summoning weapons, and teleporting…of course they'd be confused.

Several seconds later, there was a yelp from one of the kids as the stranger knocked him unconscious.

"Did mommy never tell you to play with sharp objects?" he asked mockingly, burning the bow up into ashes.

The others didn't falter one second, but aimed more arrows.

_Guess they haven't learned their lesson, huh…_

For a second, he had the strange urge to summon up a hoard of Assassin nobodies. Then he remembered how he had perished. And plus, now in this world, he had funny doubts about the nobodies.

Was this his second chance?

Chance or no chance, these brats had gone way in the danger territory to back out now. Teleporting again, he now teleported behind a furious looking girl. She turned around in shock, and fell unconscious like the first as he simply knocked the back of her neck.

"Who do you think you are anyways?" he asked lazily before vanishing again.

"…"

All the kids fell silent, but were now mainly on their guard. For several minutes, there was only the chirping of crickets and cicadas. They descended quickly and began to run home, but without warning, all the peace shattered.

A great ring of fire burst up around them, giving no way of exit.

_This reminds me of many things…_

The man in the black coat reappeared inside with them.

_My battle with…_

"So what are you going to do now?"

_Roxas…_

Suddenly, his eyes widened. A younger kid standing all the way in the back. Blond hair. Bright blue eyes.

"Roxas?" he whispered.

But the others had already reacted, and pulled out their weapons and had shot the arrows at him. The first grazed him before he blasted the rest with fire.

He looked back again, but saw that he had left an opening in his wall of fire, where the kid had escaped.

It sealed quickly, and the others were still inside, still ready to fire.

He let down the fire.

"I'll let you off this time." Was the only thing he said as he strode off, walking past them without another glance. "Oh. The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

The kids only stared at him.

_I guess they don't have much in them like my past opponents._

"You better remember it." He added, melting into the dark.

As he walked off towards the darkness where he thought 'Roxas' had gone, the other kids shuddered before scrambling off quickly.

-------------------

The blond haired kid was now walking at a fast pace. Axel made sure to stay at a far distance. If that was Roxas, he'd know if someone was following him. Pausing for a second, the kid looked around before slipping into a rundown building.

Axel glided towards the building, and looked at the sign.

_…a bar?_

Without further hesitation, he opened the door and slipped in, barely anyone noticing he had come in.

It was a dark place, illuminated with only a few candles and dim lamps. Large wooden tables that looked like the trunks of trees and wooden chairs bedecked the area. A moose head was on the wall beside him. Looking at it with slight disgust, he walked silently towards the long table where the bartender sat, yawning.

He walked over and sat himself on one of the chairs, and pulled out a menu, before laughing quietly.

"Sea Salt Ice Cream…" he murmured, before pulling the menu down from his face.

"Are you going to order something or what?" the man asked, pulling out a cigar and lighting it. "I've got these dumb Moogles bothering me day and night for their pay here. So you better order something." He ordered. "Oh wait, this is your first time here huh?"

"…mm…" he mumbled.

"The name's Cid. I run the bar here if you haven't noticed. So are you going to order something?" he questioned, laying a hand on the counter and puffing some smoke into Axel's face.

Axel only nodded and pointed at the sea salt ice cream, unfazed by the smoke that was now rising.

"You only staying here for dessert or something?" the man asked. "Well, suit yourself."

He left for a moment, and Axel took the time to look around.

'Roxas' was sitting with his back faced to him, and was talking to another person who looked vaguely like Sora. A pale blonde haired girl was finishing her dinner, before brushing her hair aside and waving to another girl with reddish pink hair.

_Namine and Kairi?_

Everyone he remembered was back. Except they looked much younger.

"Hey, here it is." Said Cid, now back from the kitchen.

He took the ice cream and unwrapped it from its wrapper.

_Bittersweet…_

He sat there several moments, letting the taste melt in before interrupted in his peace by a shout from Cid.

A Moogle, a strange little white miniature bear with wings and an 'antennae' with a red ball connected to it came flying out holding a badly made sandwich.

"What is this!" Cid yelled, pulling the sandwich out from the Moogle's paw, which only made a snort of satisfaction.

"It's a SANDWICH, kupo." The Moogle said, and flew off.

"You aren't getting paid for this!" Cid roared as the Moogle turned about and vanished into the kitchen.

He turned to 'Roxas' and 'Sora'.

"I'm so sorry, these Moogles…they can't get enough of torturing me." He apologized quickly, and received nods from both boys. Not one of them had noticed Axel, who had finished with the ice cream and had disposed of the stick with a flame.

"Are you going to pay for that?" Cid questioned, now walking towards him. The bar was now mostly empty.

Axel silently pulled out a bag, and pushed it over to him.

"Ehm, this is more than enough…"

Axel only looked away. He couldn't remember where he got it. But he remembered faintly, something about Roxas, or his past adventures…if that was what he could call the…

"Just take it. I don't need it anymore." Axel sighed to a pleased Cid. "Do you mind if I stay a bit longer?"

Cid only grinned happily and bounded off. Axel took that as a yes.

He didn't notice Roxas and Sora watching him.

"Who is that man? I've never seen him here before?" Sora muttered, glaring at the red haired man who was now sitting quietly at the table.

"I don't know, but I don't think he means any good." Roxas said quietly. "You should have seen what he did to all the neighborhood kids."

Sora looked quizzically at him.

"What _did_ he do? I thought the neighborhood kids were tough enough to take down anyone who tried to get on their turf…well then again, we _are_ part of the group…"

Roxas looked darkly at him.

"Don't laugh, but it's true. He used fire on us."

"Why would I laugh? I mean, sending hunks of wood on fire is pretty threatening…"

"That was NOT what I meant." Roxas sighed, putting a hand to his head. "He summoned it. I'm not joking! And he teleported and knocked out two of the kids. And then, he took out these weapons…I don't know if he was going to use them or anything, but he isn't someone I want to mess with…"

The door opened again, and a pale blue haired kid walked in, saw the two, grinned, and walked over.

"Hey guys, what's going on, Sora, Roxas?"

_So they are…_ Axel thought from where he sat. _And that must be Riku._

"Hey Riku!" Sora said cheerily, trying to break from his confused manner and greet his friend. "So what's up?"

Riku looked around quickly before bending down.

"It's not good news. Namine's sick again. And this time, I think it's severe." He muttered.

"Really? We saw her a moment ago, and she was fine." Roxas pointed, but was stopped by Riku.

"I don't know, she just doubled over while walking on the streets with Kairi. It's a good thing I was there to help them back home…" Riku sighed, sounding troubled.

"We better get going then." Sora said, and began to walk out the door, just to bump into something hard. "ACH!"

Axel looked down and saw Sora rubbing his head behind him.

"Oh. Sorry." The words sounded funny coming out of his mouth.

"Eh, it's nothing." Sora grinned, not noticing he was talking to Axel. Roxas had an almost horrified expression on his face, but was relieved as the man moved out of the way for him to walk through. Riku followed, and lastly, he did.

A funny feeling ran through him as he walked past the man, who stared at him for a moment before looking away. He ran quickly to catch up with Sora and Riku.

"Dude, what gives?" Sora questioned to Roxas, who was looking funny.

"Nothing…"

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure he's not going to come and kill you or something for being a threat, after all, you were just doing your job…" Sora reassured happily.

"Job? I think that's more of 'source of entertainment'." Riku laughed. "But you're right, some of the kids take it as their responsibility to keep this area free of new adults. In fact, I think Cid and some other guys are the only adults here, and they aren't very domestic either." He chuckled.

"Well we better get going then. Before Kairi freaks." Roxas sighed, now slightly calmed.

The three quickly ran off into the dark streets of the town. Axel stared at where they had left, and began walking after.

_What is this place? Why are they all so young?_ Axel was in a state of confusion, which was rare for him.

He paused for a moment before gliding off towards their direction.

-------------------

"This doesn't look good…" Riku growled, feeling Namine's head. "She has a severe fever…"

They had just arrived at their home, a rundown building like all of the homes here. They had grown accustomed to the life, and they slept on the floor, or on one of the two slightly comfortable mattresses. Well, the boys mainly slept on the floor and let the girls sleep on the bed. The boards were creaky, and it was two stories tall, with a slightly messy and dirty kitchen with a five-person table. A semi-dirty but usable restroom was near the stairs leading up. The lights were mostly broken, so they relied mainly on candlelight.

"Sora, get a wet towel." Riku ordered.

Without protesting, Sora scampered downstairs to the kitchen.

It was dark and dusty as usual, and the doors and windows were shut, so the whole area was completely shadowed. Striking a match, Sora lit a candle to lead his way to the counter. Pulling out a towel, he wet it, and suddenly stopped, and closed the water.

_I hear something. _

The creaking noise came again.

Sora turned around, and pulled the candle out in front of him to illuminate the room. There was nobody there.

Giving a sigh, he mumbled "It must have been my imagination…" before taking the towel and starting up the stairs.

Halfway upwards, he suddenly turned around and saw two green eyes staring up at him.

"Eh?" he squeaked.

A flame burst into view, illuminating the room completely.

The stranger from the bar was standing near the table, a flame flickering madly on his finger.

Sora stared silently at him, his twelve-year-old mind screaming madly inside.

"…Uh…can I get something for you?" he questioned, cocking his head to the side.

Axel stared for several seconds before reacting.

"…Don't you remember?"

"Huh?" Sora squeaked in confusion. He had no idea who the heck this stranger was, but he didn't like him.

"Me. Axel. Flurry of Dancing Flames. Ring a bell?" Axel questioned frantically. "Don't tell me you forgot."

The look of confusion on Sora's face was evident.

"…I guess not…Does Roxas remember? Did he say anything about me? Nobodies? Organization XIII?" Axel tried again.

Suddenly huge tears began welling up in Sora's eyes.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! WIKU! THERE'S A SCWARY MAN HWERE! AND HWE'S AWASKING MWE SCWARY AND WEIRD QWESTIONS!" he wailed, and began sobbing loudly.

"Ah! AAH!" Axel suddenly panicked. A funny jolt impacted through him.

_I'm feeling?_

Riku came storming down the stairs.

"Alright, who's terrorizing my little brother?" he demanded, and saw Axel freaking out, and Sora wailing loudly on the ground. "YOU! WHAT DID YOU DO!"

"Riku! Don't you remember me?" Axel asked frantically.

Riku glared at him fiercely.

"I have no idea who the heck you are, but I don't like you. What gives you the right to barge in and scare my little brother?" Riku growled, bending down to help Sora up.

"I didn't mean to!" Axel shouted back.

A new feeling was welling up inside of him.

_Rage…_

Rage? He was feeling anger?

He stopped and sucked some air in.

"Ok. Axel. Caaallllmmm. Think calm." He muttered to himself.

He had never needed to do this. He never needed to calm himself.

"What are you mumbling to yourself? Are you plotting something evil?" Riku demanded, walking up to the taller man and glaring at him in the eye.

"Uh, NO?" Axel glared back.

"I KNEW IT! YOU CAME TO KILL ROXAS! SO I WAS WRONG! WAAAAH! RIKU, I MADE A MISTAKE!" Sora burst into tears again.

"Go upstairs." Riku said quickly. "And don't come back until I tell you to."

Sora went crying upstairs, and there was a slam of the door. Riku turned around and glared at Axel again.

"What do you want from a poor family like us? We don't have any valuables you would want." He growled, carefully guarding the stairs from Axel.

"I…" Axel began. "Wait, you guys are a family? I thought…"

"You know nothing about us. Leave us be, and don't come back." Riku said quietly all of a sudden.

Axel looked quietly back.

"Actually…I do know you…well, I used to…"

Suddenly he remembered. It was something that had been embedded in the back of his mind for a long time.

_Let's meet in the next life._

What he had said to Roxas…had it really come true?

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Eh…I hoped you like it…please review…uh…if you want…


	2. Chapter 1: Memories

**Lost in the Darkness: Oathkeeper **

Hello again. Chapter 1 is UP!

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Chapter 1 – Memories

_Let's meet in the next life_…

Nonsense, a Nobody would never get a second chance at anything. The moment they became one, their past life would be thrown away. The comforts of home, family, and feeling would be nothing.

Riku still was guarding the stairs from Axel.

"Look, just go and nobody gets hurt." Riku commanded in a snarling voice, and summoned his Souleater.

"Well it seems as if you still have your wimpy little weapon…" Axel said silently, and summoned his chakrams. "I don't want to do this, but I need someone here. And if I don't get him, my life would mean nothing."

_Or would it?_ A reluctant little voice in his head questioned.

_Shut up!_ Axel thought back.

"Fine," Riku said "But we better take this outside." Riku glared warily at Axel. He wouldn't risk his family for this fight.

----------------------

_Silent, Smooth, and Strike…_

Axel thought to himself outside. Riku was still watching his every movement, making sure he wouldn't do anything to his home.

"No worries. I plan on winning this battle fairly." Axel laughed, and thousands of flames burst up around them.

Riku was unfazed. "So the rumors are true. Some pyromaniac _has _entered our town…" he chuckled.

Before Axel could react, Riku was down on him, slashing his Souleater at him. Blocking every blow with his chakrams except for the first one, which clipped him inconveniently on the arm, Axel vanished for a second. Riku suddenly froze. Was this man telling the truth when he said he planned on winning the battle fairly? What if he had just teleported into the house –

"Never loose concentration on your enemy. Strike one." Axel's voice resonated around the street. "You lose your concentration so quickly don't you?"

Riku narrowly got his head chopped off as a chakram whooshed past his head, the wind whistling in his ears.

Axel reappeared behind him, catching the chakrams before ruthlessly slashing at him. Riku blocked the first few blows, until Axel sent a huge wall of fire at him.

"Agh!" he shouted as the fire hit him. On contact, the flames receded, and Axel stared down at Riku.

"I'm not done yet!" he shouted angrily as Axel teleported away.

This time, Riku stood in the same position, looking around for any sign of his enemy.

"Never stay in the same place. Lightning might not strike at the same spot all the time, but I can reassure you that I can make fire light in the same place. Strike two." Axel's taunting voice returned again, as the flare wall returned to burn Riku. "Basic knowledge, isn't it? Anyone can set fires at the same place again. Are you sure you should be fighting me?"

Now Riku was furious. No matter how hard he attacked, this man just kept on going.

_Time to pull out a little trick._

Jumping into the air, a dark aura blasted around him as he transferred into Dark Mode.

"Ah. The ever predictable Dark Mode." Axel said lazily as he reappeared.

_What! How did he know? _Riku froze. _No. Must keep concentration. Keep moving._ Jumping into the air, he thrust his Souleater down at Axel, who glided away gracefully. Riku continued slashing as much as he could, but his fierce adversary proved much more quickly than presumed.

"Dark Firaga!" Riku shouted as he skidded to a stop, and aimed a ball of black fire at Axel. The flame absorbed right into him.

"Fire. I control it too. Strike Three. Use your head." Axel said one last time before appearing behind Riku, and grabbing the back of his neck before hitting it hard with his hand. "I'll let you lose shamefully." He said as Riku fainted.

_Pressure points. You gotta love them._ Axel thought with satisfaction. _How interesting that one who once was so strong was easily defeated like that?_

Laughing for a moment, before suddenly stopping, he looked towards the house.

"Now for the others…" he said silently to himself.

----------------------

Upstairs, Sora and Roxas had watched the whole battle, how their big brother had put up a fight, but lost in the end to his exhaustion and by a hit on the neck.

"Pressure points." Kairi had explained.

"What will we do?" Sora asked, trembling. "It's us kids who are hardly even teens against some guy who throws flames and sharp thingamabobers at people…we're doomed…"

Namine was now burning up in her fever.

"I don't get it!" Kairi screamed furiously. "Her fever's getting worse!"

For most of the battle, she had been pressing cold towels on her sister's head, but nothing was working.

"What will we do?" Roxas asked quietly.

"Lock the door." Kairi sighed exasperatedly. "It's the only thing we can do for now."

She then looked around before moving a large picture of a grassy plain to the left, revealing a dark room.

"Roxas. Sora. Get in here. It leads to the chimney." She said quickly, hearing the footsteps ascending up the stairs. "Take the candle with you too. I want you to run and get up on the roof and take the metal emergency stairs down. Get to Cid's bar, and don't stop running, mind you."

The two nodded in fright, and crawled in. Kairi closed the door with an exhausted sigh. Namine opened her eyes weakly and held her hand, a small smile on her face.

----------------------

Sora and Roxas had already climbed out of the roof, slightly ashy, but nonetheless fine. They slid down the metal ladder and began running.

"What do you think will happen to Kairi and Namine?" Sora asked quietly as they dashed towards the bar.

"…" Roxas was silent. Why were these strange new memories coming back to his brain? After watching the man fight with Riku, bright flashes of light had been interfering with his thoughts, until he saw himself with two Keyblades in his hand, about to fight him. Maybe he was foreseeing the future?

He had known all this long that his family could all wield Keyblades, but he hadn't learned yet. He was still training, while Sora could already use one. Perhaps he _could_ see the future? But hopefully, he didn't, and even more, he desperately hoped to have no fight with the other man.

"Hey! Roxas!" Sora shouted, waving his hand in front of his brother. "Come on, we have to get out of here!"

The two began to run at top speed, but before long, a window exploded in flames in their house, and Axel jumped out.

"Hurry up!" Sora called back to Roxas, who was apparently five quick steps away.

They were almost at Cid's bar, just to be stopped by a Moogle that was sitting outside.

"The bar's closed, kupo, nobody can come in, kupo." It said smartly, just to be grabbed with a squeal and tossed across the streets.

Halfway through its fall, the Moogle frantically tried to fly, but obviously its pudgy body held it down, but helped to cushion the fall.

It flipped several times before fainting on the ground.

"Kupo! How rude!" it muttered furiously to itself.

Inside, Sora and Roxas flung the door behind them frantically. Cid looked up from where he was playing a game of Poker with several other Moogles.

"Hey, I thought the bar was closed, Kupo." One of the Moogles pointed.

Without warning, Sora and Roxas ran around the counter where they were playing and hid in the kitchen.

"…Uh…" Cid mumbled. "Give me a second."

Opening the door of the kitchen, he found Sora and Roxas hanging with some loaves of meat, upside down.

"What the heck are you doing?" he asked. Sora and Roxas began sweating funnily.

"There's a pyromaniac chasing us, so Kairi told us to hide in your shop." Roxas said quickly.

"What! I don't have any idea what to do with pyromaniacs!" Cid cried gloomily. "Now he's gonna burn down the bar and take my only business away from me!"

There was a sudden knock on the door, but then, a crack, and the door was down.

"Ok you guys better stay here and hang with the meat." Cid said quickly and slipped out of the kitchen.

----------------------

Kairi sat trembling beside Namine, whose breathing was a bit more even now. She had even stopped sweating as much. It was a good sign that her fever was letting up. What had happened though?

She had seen a red flash as the door burned down, and the stranger came in. There had been a silence, until he demanded to know where Roxas was. Kairi had tried to convince him that there was nobody here but herself and her sister. He had suddenly shot a flame at the portrait to reveal the secret passageway. He had laughed and said it was futile trying to hide secrets from him, then noticed Namine for the first time, with her fever. He had tried to walk over, but she tried to stop him. He had then teleported at Namine's side and placed his hand on her forehead. There was a strange steam that came from his hand and her head, and he suddenly lifted his hand up again, before moving to the window and burning it out, jumping out the window.

She was still confused. Had he purposely rid Namine of her fever? What did he want from them?

"K-Kairi…" Namine mumbled from where she lay.

"Namine…" Kairi replied weakly, and walked over to her sister.

"I don't know why…but I'm starting to remember…"

"Remember what?" Kairi nearly shouted. "Is it about our parents?"

"…Well…In a way…" she sighed quietly.

"Well? What about it?" Kairi demanded. For nearly their whole lives, they had no parents. They had died several days after Namine's birth. How could she remember?

"It isn't our parents." Namine whispered. "It's about our brother."

"Sora? Roxas? Riku?" she asked.

Namine only shook her head.

"I don't know why, but I think we had a foster parent or another brother or something. Or maybe it was a sister." She said, straining her head in thought.

"Rest, Namine. You can tell me later." Kairi placed a new cold towel down on her head, before closing her eyes in deep thought.

----------------------

"We're CLOSED!" Cid shouted at the man who had been in his bar less than an hour ago. "What? Do you want your munny back? Well you can't have it!"

Axel sighed exasperatedly.

"No, I'm just searching for two boys." He growled, growing impatient. _Impatience?_ _I don't feel – why am I feeling now?_ "I know they're here."

The black shadowy roots returned, flaring fiercely around his arms, and the chakrams reappeared.

Cid gulped, and pointed at the kitchen.

"Sorry Roxas, Sora…" he thought to himself as the stranger slid silently behind the counter, past the Moogles who had now started the poker game without Cid, and into the kitchen.

Sora gave a gulp of fear when he saw Axel enter the kitchen. Roxas groaned as his feet slowly began to slip oh-so-conveniently from the ropes that held him up. Sora fell with a thump on the floor, and along with that, Roxas as well, with gigantic bumps now welling up on their heads.

"Thanks for the laugh. Now lets get down to business." Axel laughed.

"Just WHO the heck are you?" Roxas growled, grabbing on to Sora's arm if they had to make a run for it.

"So you forgot again…" Axel sighed bitterly, his eyes suddenly cast down, before he looked back up with a new intent in his eyes. "I hear that battles can bring back memories. Why don't we try it?" he laughed as they suddenly found themselves outside.

Sora knew how to handle most battle situations, so he summoned his Keyblade, holding it out in front of him.

Roxas only looked down. He couldn't help in this battle. Sora nodded to him to leave and get help. Roxas went running down the streets, turned his head back while he did so, and saw Sora surrounded by the flames that had defeated his older brother.

Sora held the Keyblade tightly, watching the man's every movements. He would not make the same mistakes as his brother, after all, he was known to be one of the strongest fighters in the town.

Making the first move, Axel threw his chakrams at Sora, who moved out of the way quickly. Axel teleported and caught the chakrams.

_He can't fool me with tricks I've already seen…_ Sora thought. _What's even better is that I think that he's already used all his moves in the battle with Riku._

As expected, a burst of fire formed under Sora, who dodged it quickly. A wall of fire now separated the two.

With a semi-impressed whistle, Axel threw the chakrams once more, letting them explode out of the flames, and fly towards Sora.

With a shocked expression, Sora found himself sprawling across the ground.

Getting up, he saw the flames receded and Axel nowhere to be found.

"So it was just a distraction…?" Sora thought in confusion, before burning into fury.

He had let him escape, and now his brother was in danger.

----------------------

He was feeling the strange emotions again. The voice in his head was getting much more persistent.

_And why do you want Roxas? _

"Because…" he muttered as he glided across the town searching for any sign of his once best friend.

_He doesn't remember you. Plus, he has his own family now… _

"This isn't a reality! I know it's a trick!" he shouted, slamming a fist into the nearest building.

He felt a rush of pain tingle up his arm. Never had the pain felt so real. It was usually just a funny 'vanishing' feeling, like particles seeping away in him. But now, he felt something new. Something was running down his fingers. He turned around to look at his hand in wonder. Pulling off his glove, something red plopped out of it.

_Blood._ The voice said quietly.

More of the 'blood' crept from his hand.

_It's proof you exist now. Pain. Hatred. Love. Desire. All parts of the human mind and spirit._

"So…this is more than real, hm?" Axel said quietly. "So what happened to them? Why are they suddenly younger?"

_This is the next life. They've lived here for around thirteen years now without knowing of the existence of Heartless, Nobodies, and you. As for you? You just woke up from your sleep. The dark waters consumed you over time after you died. They gave you a body, but control you. Your heart lies not within you, but in the lake of darkness. You exist…but they have your spirit. _

Axel shook his head in confusion.

"Save it. I want Roxas. We can return home together." He said almost angrily.

_Ah…but what if Roxas doesn't want to return anymore? _

The thought had never came to him. He had only thought…

The blood had now dried up on his knuckles. Picking his glove back up and placing it on his hand, he stared down the street.

"Was it better if I didn't exist then?" he asked, his voice filled with distaste and bitterness.

_… _

"Sora!" the familiar voice of Roxas cried from where Axel had just left.

Axel turned around, and all the way at the back of the street was Roxas trying in vain to pick up his brother.

"…Roxas…" Sora muttered quietly as his younger brother broke into a slow but steady run.

_But what if Roxas doesn't want to return anymore? _He thought. After all, he had injured both of his brothers…but he had relieved Namine of her fever…

_Now where did I learn to do that? _He subconsciously thought.

But he had come so far. It was fine. He would take Roxas, and bring him back to reality. Then…then…

Shaking his head madly and growling, he broke into a smooth glide to where Roxas was running off.

Roxas chose that time to turn his head around. When he saw Axel, chakrams out and gaining on him, he began running even faster.

But then, suddenly a shadow that wasn't his formed in front of him. Axel froze.

_Heartless? I thought you said there were none!_ Axel demanded fiercely in his head.

_Ah, but your arrival…your lone heart in the lake…it has brought many Heartless…_

The black pool slowly rose up and formed into what looked like an overgrown ant with huge yellow eyes, but only four legs. It wobbled around a bit before suddenly turning its head towards Roxas, who froze.

"Roxas! Move!" Axel felt every bit of emotion pushing out of him as he began to run after. But when Roxas stood still, Sora on his back unable to help, he suddenly felt himself move without control, suddenly flying over and slashing the thing with a chakram.

"You-!" Roxas snarled in distaste, having barely any thoughts he had just been saved.

"No time for that!" Roxas suddenly found himself being picked up, along with his brother.

He turned his head upwards to take a look at the man who had 'saved' his life. Dark green eyes stared only forward, and bright crimson hair blew in his face as he glided through the streets. He then turned his head back to see Sora clinging on to his back still, opening his eyes slightly through the wind. More of the black creatures with golden eyes were rising out of the ground and chasing after them. He looked ahead and then gasped – as more began to form in the streets, blocking both points of exit.

Several seconds later, a wall of fire surrounded them from the strange creatures.

Axel cursed as more Heartless appeared from the sky, flying down to attack.

"They fly?" Roxas choked as one swooped down on him, only to be repelled by Sora's Keyblade.

"Come on Roxas! Try to fight! I know you know how…"

Roxas nodded weakly and held out his hands, closing his eyes.

_But what this doesn't work? What if I get killed? What will happen to my family?_

"Roxas!" Sora shouted over the screeching of the exploding Heartlesses. "You can do it!"

A sharp jagged pain ruptured through Axel's skull.

"What…" he growled as he singed several more Heartless. "…"

The pain receded.

By then, a bright light formed in Roxas' hand, and a single Keyblade formed.

"One…" Roxas growled. "But it's better than none!"

The two brothers dashed across the flaming arena, attacking whatever Heartless they could get. Axel stood momentarily at their synchronization as the two jumped up in the air and slashed at the oncoming heartless. That was when he felt something cold rupture through him. He turned around in shock and saw a Neo Shadow slicing through him.

"A…" he mumbled.

_Remember, you exist, but you don't at the same time. No worries._ The voice laughed.

But he didn't feel any pain. Nor did any blood come out.

_Right now, you're returning to nothingness. It is up to you whether you want to be real, or be nobody._

"Hah. For now, I'd rather be a Nobody." He laughed, and he thrust his chakrams at the Neo Shadow mercilessly.

There was a sudden shrill cry among the Heartlesses, who suddenly receded. The Neo Shadow, who was nearly vanishing, quickly receded as well.

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"I think it's over…" Roxas said quietly. "Maybe that thing was the leader, and it being hurt called for the others to retreat."

But Sora was no longer watching his brother, but the other man who suddenly collapsed onto the ground.

"Roxas…" Sora whispered quietly.

Roxas merely nodded, a strange bubble of emotion welling up in him.

"It's no longer safe here. We have to go." Roxas murmured, before looking back at Sora. "Tell the others we have to go, no matter what kind of condition Namine is in. Get Cid, I think he can help."

"And you?" Sora asked.

"I'm staying here. We're dragging him with us. I don't know why, but I have…" Roxas stopped.

"Don't worry, I guess I get it." Sora grinned before taking off. "I'll meet back here after I get the others."

The two smiled weakly at each other, before Sora dashed off, vanishing into the darkness.

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_That's it for Chapter 1. Hope you enjoyed! Once again, review if you like. And thanks for the alerts! I really appreciate it!_


	3. Chapter 2: Shadowed

**Lost in the Darkness: Oathkeeper**

Hello. It is indeed the second chapter. Glad you're reading. Thanks.

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Chapter 2 – Shadowed

_It was completely dark at first. But then, as he felt himself rising from the dark depths, light filtered from above. He turned his head slowly to the right and saw nothing but the darkness. A small shaft of light cut through the dark, and he stared back up. His red hair flowed behind him as he felt himself drift upwards. The light got brighter as he moved slowly upwards, until he suddenly felt himself jerk upwards._

_There was a splash, and the cold air hit him. _

Water._ Was his first thought. His next instinct was to get out, but he found himself being carried by the waves. Then he felt himself hit hard ground, and saw brown particles of sand. _

_A beach. Then he felt a small shadow move over him. He tried to look up, but he was too tired to do so, and fell into a sleep._

"I think he's waking up." A blurry voice ran through his head.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to do this?" another asked. "I mean, he _is _a pyromaniac."

"…Will you guys shut up, please?"

Axel struggled to open his eyes, but when he did, he only saw black.

_Oh god, am I going blind?_ He screeched in his mind.

But he found it was only a cold towel covering his eyes. Giving a sigh of relief, he moved his hand to take the towel off, but found it off in a second. He turned around and looked upwards to see an extremely concerned Namine.

"There, he's up. I told you so." She said, turning around to stick her tongue out at Kairi, who only frowned.

Putting his hand to his head, he groaned slightly.

"Where the heck…what…" he moaned groggily.

"No, no, you're in no condition to move. Get back down and sleep." She ordered, and pressed his head down on the floor, or in this case, the soft but slightly stiff pillow.

"No, I want answers. I don't need to sleep, ok?" he nearly shouted, but earned a glare from Riku, who was eating something.

"Hey, stop making such a ruckus, I'm trying to drive here." Sora shouted from all the way across wherever they were.

"Drive?" Axel mumbled confusedly.

"This darn Gummi Ship Cid gave us. It's terrible! How long has he had it?" Sora yelled back as the ship suddenly started rattling.

"You hungry?" Namine asked, turning her attention back to Axel, who had now sat up, in a slight daze.

Shaking his head, Namine left him alone again, just to return with a first aid kit. Axel turned around and saw his hand, which was now bleeding once more.

"What?" he muttered in shock.

Namine pulled the injured hand over and began patting it with some cool liquid. Several minutes later, the liquid seeped in and began the recovery process, and Namine lay it down.

"Yeah, while you were unconscious, Sora was an idiot and accidentally dropped you on the floor." She laughed momentarily before growing serious again. "Your wound from something reopened, so we didn't have time to heal it at the time. Earlier I applied some of that Elixir on you, but it wasn't very effective. So yeah, we stole Cid's Mega Elixir."

"You know, you didn't have to go through all that trouble for a nobody like me." Axel said, surprised that he was easily carrying conversation with the girl who had once been their captive in Castle Oblivion.

"No, no, Kairi wouldn't allow it because you saved my life." She laughed. "She figured it was a very bad fever. If you hadn't decided to come along and barge in, she probably would have been…"

Namine suddenly stopped and bit her lip. "Well I get the point." Axel said quickly.

A funny silence fell upon the area, until Riku turned around in his chair.

"Sora, do you even know where the heck you're going?" he asked skeptically to his brother.

Sora turned around and made a funny face. "Uh…"

Riku slapped his hand to his head.

"Sora, are you trying to be – I mean, Sora, stop being an idiot." He groaned and slid his hand down. "Please don't land us in the middle of nowhere."

"Well technically we can never be nowhere! There's always somewhere to nowhere! I mean, you can't spell somewhere without a bit of nowhere…" Sora continued babbling until Riku hit his head and told him to concentrate.

The two suddenly bent closer and began whispering. Sora nodded, and began to steer with confidence.

"I say Disney Castle isn't such a bad idea…" Sora sang to himself.

_And I don't_. Axel thought. _If they still remember me, which they probably don't…then I'm screwed. Wait, do they even know me?_

"Hey look, I didn't know we were that close to the castle!" Sora said happily, but suddenly frowned. "That does NOT look like Disney Castle."

Instead, they found themselves flying closer and closer to a black towering castle, completely dark and devoid of…well, happiness.

"I think I…" Sora said quietly, and then shook his head. "No way, I never get lost."

"Only in a box you would get lost." Riku added sagely before staring out the window anxiously. "Can't you steer away?"

"Nope. I don't get why, but I can't seem to move the ship anymore. We can only wait now." Sora frowned. "Where's Roxas? Is he still sleeping?"

"Actually yes." Kairi said, coming from out a door. Nobody had noticed she had left, but her entrance had shocked them all. "He's still sleeping in the back. Should I wake him up, now that we're close to landing in unfamiliar territory?"

Sora nodded as they drifted even closer.

------------------------

Axel stared quietly after the five siblings as they exited the Gummi Ship. Riku had told him to stay inside, as he was still in no condition for any fighting just in case.

_Well sheesh, I'm sure THEY aren't in much of a condition for fighting either…_ he thought almost furiously.

For some strange reason, there had been an aching in his back for a while now, where the Neo Shadow had sliced him.

_Now, since when did Neo Shadows cut people?_

The five had now vanished, and the door had closed.

_I'm sure there's not much to do now…_ he groaned to himself.

That is, until he saw a brown book sitting on a table near him.

Picking it up, he examined the title: Namine's Journal. Below the gold words were scratched in red marker: DON'T YOU DARE READ IT!

"Heh…under her kind exterior lays the heart of a demon…" he laughed quietly.

Without heeding the front cover's warning, he opened the journal. Staring at the awful spelling and grammatical errors, he instantly assumed this was when she was very, very, young.

_Twoday I saw big bro agian. He look sleepy and got mad when Sora try give him water. I am sad. Why he get mad? _

Flipping to the last journal entry, he read:

_I'm beginning to forget! I don't get why! But every time I try remembering my oldest brother, his image fades away? Why? I read the past entries, and I remember a bit, but I suddenly forget! I remember few things though, like the time we went to the park, and Roxas tripped him on accident…I mean, it's easy to remember the funny things, but I can't remember anything about him, his eyes, his hair, his face, or anything…I wonder why?_

Assuming by the dusty cover, it would seem as if she had just moved it into the Gummi Ship that day. Her handprint was imprinted on the dust.

He flipped the next page, and saw only one hastily written word:

"Moving." He muttered. "So they're moving."

Suddenly he felt something pierce through his mind. A warmth seeped through him, and instantly he knew something was up.

He ran to the door and found it conveniently locked.

"Oh, so they don't trust the pyromaniac huh?" he summoned his chakrams and slashed right through. "Now I wonder why they didn't think I would-"

He stopped as he saw a very panicked Kairi.

"OH MY GOD!" She screamed. "THE OTHERS!"

Axel was out in a flash, racing across the barren ground. The area was like a floating island in the middle of space, the castle being the only thing on it. The footprints from Sora, Riku, Roxas, and Namine were still there.

_Obviously they left Kairi to guard me. Wonder what she would have done to me anyways…_

He found Kairi running after, looking like a madwoman, her hair flung in multiple directions.

"Get moving!" he shouted as he vanished into the dark door.

Kairi growled, but obliged as she followed.

_Wonder what happened -!_

The area looked very familiar. As in familiar, VERY familiar.

"What the…" he growled. "This looks just like the Castle that Never Was."

But it wasn't. It seemed almost to be the exact. Everything was reverted. The whole area was raven black, and a large heartless symbol was carved onto the ground of the large room. Two stairs led upwards to a door, and a hall was between the two.

Kairi shuddered.

"Maybe I should stay in the Gummi Ship…" she squeaked, but found herself being pushed by Axel.

"It would be pointless if we kept on being knocked down, one by one. We should stick together, and nothing bad will happen." He said calmly.

_Now where did all that energy I felt come from?_

He closed his eyes momentarily, and felt a pulse from above in the room overhead where the stairs lead to.

"Up there." He said quietly, and glided up with ease, Kairi chasing behind.

By the time Kairi arrived, Axel had opened the door to see Sora on the ground.

"What…"

"Get out!" he suddenly shouted.

There was a sudden slash through the air, like it was being torn apart. It was followed by a swirl of…

"Petals?" Axel muttered in sudden remembrance. "Marluxia!"

Kairi had raced into the room just to see Axel and his chakrams, blazing and ready for battle.

"Oh, another?" an all-too familiar voice for Axel called out in the dark.

"Axel?" Riku called from where he stood, which was a good length away. With him, stood Roxas, prepared for battle.

There it was. The pink scythe came rushing down on Riku and Roxas, who both jumped out of the way to safety.

"Oh man…" Axel groaned, as Marluxia stepped out of the shadows, his pink scythe looking even…well, pink than usual. Everything looked the same about him.

Same smirk, same pinkish brown hair, same…well, flowers.

"Out of all the people I had to meet…it had to be YOU, Marluxia?" Axel moaned. Roxas turned from where he stood.

"You know this guy?" he asked in amusement.

"You must have it all wrong." 'Marluxia' said, gliding over to Axel and swinging his scythe down. "I have no idea who this guy is."

"Same flower power," Axel sighed as thousands of petals came flying out from Marluxia's fist.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Sora yelled from the floor as multiple flower petals whacked him.

Namine was far across the room, pressed against something, a look of pain on her face. She turned to look at Axel and shook her head while making a zipping motion across her lips.

"Ok then…" he mumbled as he dodged several of the petals that were zooming around. Kairi was hiding behind a black pillar that was slowly breaking on the pressure of the flowers.

The petals receded, and Riku hopped over quickly to strike, only to have his blow deflected by the scythe. Following him was Roxas, who managed to make a blow as Marluxia swung his scythe upward to block Riku.

Stumbling backwards momentarily, Marluxia only got back up and slashed his weapon downward, creating an air current that ripped towards them.

Roxas screamed in pain as the air ripped through him. Riku quickly moved into the way and rolled them out of danger's path.

"You ok Roxas?" he asked, shaking."

"Yeah…but…"

"Look out!" Sora shouted, trying to get back up as Marluxia flew over to the two brothers and slammed his scythe into the floor, making strong shock waves.

Axel moved over quickly and knocked Marluxia over with a chakram, only to get a blow in the face by the scythe.

"Ow…" he mumbled. Whoever this Marluxia was, he still had his old moves. That was one good thing…

A glow suddenly emanated from Marluxia's scythe, before he thrust it forwards. The scythe ricocheted around the room, nearly chopping off a good portion of Riku's hair, nicking Roxas on the shoulder, completely missing Sora, hit the pillar where Kairi was hiding, and finally deflected by Axel. The scythe then flew back to Marluxia.

"I stand corrected." Axel said, then turning around to see the pillar toppling over.

Of course, the next thing he said was not 'Oh dearie me', but instead he ran over to where Sora lay, picked him up, and glided off, where several seconds later, the pillar hit where Sora had been.

"Wheee…" Sora mumbled, and began to sleep.

"What! This is no time for taking little naps!" he shouted in frustration.

_Impatience?_

In his sudden state of shock that he was feeling again, Marluxia appeared behind him and clipped him good on the shoulder.

The red liquids returned, falling onto the black floor, bit by bit.

Screaming as the scythe sunk deeper, he fell slowly onto the floor. Sora suddenly snapped awake, and jumped over to Marluxia, hitting him on the jaw.

"Come on guys!" he shouted to Roxas and Riku.

Namine was still on the other side of the room, while Kairi was hiding behind the remains of the black pillar.

The three ran up to Marluxia, who had just pulled his scythe out from Axel, who was now lying on the floor in pain.

_The feelings…they've never felt so strong…_

_I don't want to exist. It's too painful…_

The blood was slowly receding. The three siblings were putting up their best fight, but it seemed to not be enough.

Axel slowly stood up, and tried to move, before stumbling onto the floor. He looked onto the floor and gasped in surprise. A most familiar symbol was appearing. His blood that had gotten onto the floor was changing into a crystalline form, glowing bright blue instead of red.

A sudden pain rushed through his back. The wound from the battle with the Neo Shadow obviously had taken its effect.

The battle with Marluxia wasn't going as well either. Roxas was now on the floor, a deep cut bleeding slowly onto the floor. Riku and Sora were trying their hardest, and had weakened Marluxia a lot, but it wasn't enough. As Riku continued to fight with his Soul Eater, now in Dark Mode, he fired a blast of dark flames at the other man, who gave a yell.

Sora had run over to Roxas, tried to reawaken him to no avail.

"No time Sora! Just fight!" Riku shouted as he thrust the Soul Eater forward just to have it blocked by the scythe.

Sora took that moment to dash over and thrust his Keyblade into Marluxia.

There was a gagging sound, and Marluxia fell to the ground before fading.

The others were gasping now in exhaust, panting on the floor with heavy breath.

"He…faded…?" Riku growled. "He…probably still…lives then…whoever he is…"

"I don't…like the sounds of him…" Sora panted before collapsing onto the floor.

Kairi ran over to tend to her brothers, and Namine suddenly came running back.

"You guys will never know what happened." She gasped, seeming twice as exhausted as they did for an odd reason.

Axel got up slowly and looked down at the floor in wonder.

The glowing symbol of a Nobody pulsed weakly on the ground where he had fallen.

"What's this?" Sora wondered when he looked over where Axel stood, staring down at the symbol.

"Hey are you paying attention?" Namine shouted furiously at Sora. "I was just saying I found a weird room when you guys were fighting. Well, I found a weird door to be precise, so I tried opening it. But it didn't open…but when that guy faded away, this weird light formed on the door, and these words appeared…"

The group headed over to the 'door', and examined it.

"I don't understand this at all." Riku sighed.

"I don't either." Sora whined.

"Join the club. Neither do I." Axel said.

"I have no idea." Roxas added.

"Nor do we." Namine and Kairi said in unison. "However, I do understand one part of it…something about 'hearts' and 'lights returning to darkness'…" Namine said quickly. She stared guiltily at the floor as if there had been something she had not said.

_Sounds familiar._ Axel thought to himself.

Then he realized something he could read on the door.

"My name?"

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Not much of a cliffy…but I hope you review…I guess…

Oh, thank you for the kind review…I feel so much inspiration…


	4. Chapter 3: Promise

Lost in the Darkness: Oathkeeper 

Woo. It is the third chapter. It's kind of drably, so beware! But I suppose it is semi-worth reading…not as good as the last few chapters. Less action. Not very actiony. Sorry.

I don't own Kingdom Hearts in any way. If I did, then yay.

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Chapter 3 – Promise

It was his name. Finely engraved in another language and pulsing white, it was there among several other names that were unreadable. Namine turned her head towards Roxas, who looked the list over before opening his eyes wider. Kairi and Sora did the same, but found not a trace of their names. Nor did Riku.

The names ran from top to bottom of the door, all glowing simultaneously.

"No way…" Axel moaned as his eyes traced from top to bottom. Everywhere were the names of nobodies. "What is this? Some monument?"

_And now, how come I understand a few of these? Like…uh… his eyes turned and the first name he saw was…_

"Larxene?" he whispered quietly. "How strange…"

_Ok, not someone I necessarily want to remember, but I can read it. Otherwise, the other names are all…in a different language. Maybe I can read all of the Organization names because I knew them._

He looked around some more and managed to read off the other 10, not including Roxas.

At that moment, there was a crackle of static, and a white blade of lightning cracked down on an empty space. A new name had carved itself on.

"A new one?"

"…" The others stared in confusion, before Namine shivered.

"Something about this place gives me the creeps…let's get out of here." She shuddered, and the six headed back to the Gummi Ship.

As they boarded, none noticed the figure standing in the shadows of the closing doorway.

"So they left." The figure said, pulling down its hood to reveal the face of whom they had just fought.

"So it would seem, Marluxia." Another figure appeared with hood off to show a tired face, long muddy blonde hair trailing down his sunken cheeks.

"Do you think there are more of them out there? People like us?" Marluxia questioned, turning his face to the other man. "I mean, you're cooping yourself up in that room for no reason if you haven't gotten any progress in the research…"

"I _AM_ making process! I just don't feel like sharing it with you!" the other man barked back in response, his eyes flaring up.

"Hey, calm. I was just wondering-"

"But I know now. Those names, didn't you hear him? He understood some. Didn't you hear his every thought? He _knows_ them. And if he knows some of them, it's plain to see, _he knows us_." The man continued, drowning out Marluxia's protests.

"Oh!" Marluxia suddenly brightened. "So he _subconsciously_ knows us!"

"In a way, yes." The man pointed. "You're finally getting brighter after all these years."

Marluxia frowned deeply before slapping the other man on the cheek.

"OW! WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR?"

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As the Gummi Ship headed through the air, most of the crew except Sora, who was forced to continue piloting, went to sleep. Axel was no exception, but the fact that he had many new wounds bothered him.

A room that had the words 'Restroom' conveniently written on it was nearby, so he walked in.

Unzipping his coat slightly so he could examine the gash in the back, he was displeased to notice it had not fully recovered, and had made a red stain on his cloak that wasn't too visible, but moist. A cabinet next to a mirror revealed to have more Elixirs inside. Taking one, he dabbed the liquid over the long wound. Following that was the one on his shoulder. Zipping his jacket back up, he then pulled off his glove to look at his previous wounds on his knuckles. The blood had dried, and the healing before had made it better, but it ached to move his hands.

"Hey, whoever's in there, are you done?" an angry and panicked voice shouted outside. Axel put his glove back on, and came out.

"Oh it's just you." Sora said, pushing him out of the way and scrambling in.

"…"

Riku was now trying to pilot in vain, doing a mediocre job, but nearly veering into an asteroid.

Cursing, Riku nearly slammed his fist onto the controls. "How do you drive these things Sora?" he shouted at the restroom.

"Ungh!" was his only reply. Riku made a sick face.

In the back of the ship what one could call a sleeping quarter…well, the area had decent beds, but was crowded with multiple engineering parts and tools at the back of the room. The beds were near the front.

Three of the beds were already occupied by Roxas, Namine, and Kairi, all who were sleeping fitfully. There was a sixth bed that looked untouched, and he assumed it was for him. Too bad it was located a bit too close to the garbage.

It was a bit too small as well, so he scrunched up, until he decided to sit on it instead. Several minutes later, sleep overtook him, and his eyes closed to sleep.

---------------------

_He awoke in a town. It was dark and gloomy, and the sun overhead looked like it was turning red. The clouds were dark and gray, and rain pelted down quietly onto the floor where crouched, his hand bleeding._

_What was going on?_

_He felt something grab his leg as he tried to stand up, and he saw Roxas, blood dripping from his mouth. Multiple cuts and bruises covered him, each with blood slowly seeping out. A bloody chakram lay near his leg._

"_Don't do this…" he groaned weakly as he fell to the floor again._

_Blood covered the floor like a battlefield. This area was a battlefield. Sora's Keyblade was on the floor far across the street. Riku was on the floor breathing heavily somewhere back. Axel looked down._

_He tried to say, "Do what?" but instead, the words came out differently. Much more differently. _

"_I don't care. In fact, I like it better this way, with you all dying. It doesn't matter to me anymore. I'll rather live without you, with you all dead, than struggle to help you escape them." He laughed, and held out a hand, which emanated with glowing red flames. _

_A sharp pain crossed through his mind._

"_You don't have to do this! It isn't your destiny to betray us!" Roxas screamed, a bright bolt of lightning crashing across the sky. The water dripped down his face, like tears._

_Was he crying? Or was it the rain?  
_

_The tears spattered on the floor, along with the blood from all his wounds. _

_Axel closed his eyes, trying to pull himself away, but he only cast his eyes down towards Roxas._

"_I can't live like this anymore."_

_The flame rippled from his hand, exploding through Roxas. Screaming in agony, the flames engulfed him until he fell to the floor._

_Axel stared, devoid of what he had just done. Until he finally realized Roxas was dying, he fell to the floor._

_"No…I don't want it to end this way." His voice came out in desperate gasps._

_"Why did you insist on having it end this way?" Riku asked, his cracking as he fell into a pool of his own blood. "Why did you have to kill him?"_

_The rain pattered madly on the floor now, a roar of thunder and a crack of lightning illuminating the battlefield._

_"I won't die." Riku said,_

_"Axel!" Sora shouted over the din of the thunder, his bleeding form crawling towards him. "What did you do to Roxas! Axel! AXEL!"_

"Axel!" Sora screamed, shaking the older man back and forth. "Wake up!"

"NO! GET AWAY!" Axel screamed, and fell off the bed.

"Huh? What's with all the ruckus?" Kairi moaned as she got up on the bed.

"I don't get it…" Sora muttered in confusion. "Didn't you guys hear him screaming?"

"Screaming? What are you talking about?" Namine snapped as she rose from where she slept. "You guys woke me up…and look, Roxas slept through all of it."

But Roxas hadn't slept through all of it. His eyes were wide open, his heart pumping madly.

"Huh? Are you sure?" he asked, then looked at Roxas, who got up. "Roxas, I need to say something."

The two left, and Namine and Kairi fell back to sleep again almost instantly. Axel's eyes were still wide open, his breathing uneven, his palms sweating.

---------------------

"Did you see what I saw?" Roxas blurted when they closed the door.

Sora only nodded, a look of panic crossing his face.

"I saw a mass murderer!" "I saw lots of blood!" the two shouted at the same time (the first one being Sora's of course).

"I don't know about this anymore…" Roxas only said after the awkward silence, putting a hand to his head in confusion. "I mean he seems good enough of a person…"

"He seems. Notice the word usage there. Seems means he MIGHT, and MIGHT is not good enough." Sora responded instantly. "I saw you die."

The words sunk in, and a silence filled the air once more. A chill went through their bodies.

I saw you… Roxas turned his head away.

"It's ok, bro." Sora assured Roxas, who stayed as rigid as a board. "You still thinking about those words? I'm sorry if I got you worried."

"But what I want to know is…how in the first place did we all see the same thing? I mean nobody else had the vision…" Roxas murmured. "How?"

"We don't need to know that now. If he's planning on throwing something bad on us, we can drag him to Disney Castle and have King Mickey lock him up. There. Problem solved." Sora sighed exasperatedly, throwing his hands up into the air.

Twice now. Axel had heard Disney Castle. So that still existed. But the dream was still finely ingrained in his mind. If he would truly do that, they'd lock him up in Disney Castle. With all the…happiness…

Axel shuddered. That was one area he wasn't willing to go.

He had eavesdropped on the entire conversation, as Kairi and Namine were sleeping so they wouldn't see him listening. Sora and Roxas were too deep in their conversations to even tell he was listening from the other side of the door. Although he wanted to get answers, eavesdropping had made him feel queasy. It was guilt, and he didn't like it.

Even then, he knew he still wasn't fully someone yet, and he didn't intend on it being so.

After all, being nobody suits me best… he thought, but a tiny part of his mind rejected that.

You'll never figure if that's true if you don't see both sides of the situation. It sang tauntingly. Learn to appreciate your feelings.

"SHUT UP!" he suddenly screamed and slammed a fist into the door.

On the other side, a hand impaled through the metal door.

"Gah!" Sora jumped almost more than three feet up into the air. Roxas' hair stood up in shock.

Cursing Axel withdrew his hand and looked down at the blood now dripping out slowly.

"Cover blown. They won't trust me again. Stupid feelings. Stupid voice." He growled, his back now facing the door, head drooped low. "What's wrong with me? This never has happened before…"

The blood began drying up as he relieved himself of every emotion, until only a small bruise was left behind.

The door quietly opened. Not turning around, Axel only stood where he was, looking down, uncertain what to do.

_Great, the feelings are returning again._ He thought tiredly to himself. _Maybe dreams become reality._

Shielding the rage that was now coming out so he wouldn't cause any more destruction, he fell into deep thought.

_Why am I here, if I only am to kill the person I am searching for in the end?_

"…Um…" Sora's voice pierced his thoughts.

Axel turned around, surprised even though he already knew he had been there. Sora flinched and drew backwards, but returned.

"So you heard…?" Sora questioned quietly.

Axel only nodded, the blood pumping in his ears.

"…I don't know if we can go on anymore." He continued uncertainly. "I mean, if the dream was true…"

The rest of the words blanked out in Axel's mind.

_If the dream was true…_

Sora continued to speak, but Axel only saw his mouth moving. His heart pounded against his chest madly, as if it were about to burst.

"…I don't want anything to end that way…" the younger boy whispered almost inaudibly.

At that moment, Roxas, who had been standing by the door, felt a pulse of white flash through his brain.

_"Nobody would miss me."_

_The darkness covered the streets. Only lamps and the lights scattered across the streets lit up the dark place._

_"No…you're wrong…"_

_He turned his head back and faced someone all too familiar._

_"I would."_

Roxas' eyes widened. He knew this Axel guy somehow. He didn't know how, but he remembered something.

When he had fallen onto the floor in their battle with the flora-happy man…

He had seen Axel's blood form into some kind of shape before it froze up like ice.

After that, he had fainted.

I don't understand… he thought to himself.

Sora was returning to Roxas, Axel following obediently behind him, breathing heavily.

_I can't let this tear our family apart._ Roxas thought.

_I can't let myself get in their way…_ Axel thought. _I've only been bringing them harm. I know it. It's not a coincidence I met up with Marluxia. I'm positive I'm the reason._

"Roxas…" Sora murmured quietly.

At that moment, Axel's eyes crossed with Roxas'. Roxas stared up for a split second before looking back down quickly.

Axel walked past him and left to a separate room in the ship.

"Roxas…don't be worried…please…" Sora pleaded, grasping his brother's hands. "Promise to me that whatever happens, don't give up hope…I know that we can stop whatever forces stand between us and living in peace again. Don't give up Roxas, please."

Roxas wondered why Sora was telling him this. He was confused as the two walked back to the main control room.

Riku stared at him from where he was steering and got up, and Sora began to drive once more.

"Hey Roxas…" Riku looked at his younger brother. "In every darkness, there is a light. That light can never be put out, no mater how hard anyone tries. But I understand now that if you lose sight of the light, it is hard to find again. Roxas, do not lose sight of that light."

Why is everyone being so strange today? Roxas wondered confusedly.

When he returned to get to sleep, it took him several hours. When he finally did, he dreamt of only his death, and nothing more.

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**Wow, so Emo…I guess…I did not intend for this chapter to be so serious. So drably. Maybe you should have skipped it. Hey, but I'm glad you are reading this…I think…Oh in case you want to know...I don't like Emo...sorry if I wrote some...oops...**

**I'm having a bit of trouble updating super-fast because I don't like others reading behind my back…GRR! I prefer typing alone…but with people poking heads behind me, I can never concentrate. I really hope you liked this chapter…thanks for reading…**


	5. Chapter 4: Meeting

Lost in the Darkness: Oathkeeper

I can assure you that not all of my chapters will be as angst-y as the last…so don't kill me or anything if you didn't like it. Thank you for the reviews as well. I appreciate it.

I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did…then…I dunno…

Here's Chapter 4…Thanks for reading…

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Chapter 4 – Meeting

Roxas' eyes fluttered open. The room was still dark, as he had last seen it. Everyone but Sora had gone to sleep, and it was probably his turn to drive, since he was second best at it. Riku probably was the worse however.

Getting up and rubbing his sleep-deprived eyes and yawning, he trudged across the room to the door. On his way, his eyes moved over to where his brother and sisters were sleeping soundly.

A shiver ran up his spine, as if something was not right here, but he shook it off and left to the control room.

Sora was there, yawning loudly and piloting skillfully, even though he had not slept for several hours now. When he heard the _flip-flap_ noises of Roxas' slippers, he turned around and grinned happily.

"So now YOU get to be burdened with this." Sora said pleasantly, getting off the chair and flourishing towards it. "Be my guest."

Roxas only frowned at him and began driving.

Sora smiled happily, but frowned abruptly. As Roxas began to become even more engrossed in driving, he headed towards the room where he had sent Axel to reflect on his thoughts for a while. Yes, even Sora could be serious sometimes.

Opening the door quietly, he found the room completely dark. He entered the door, which surprisingly did not slam close as soon as he let go of it. Instead, the shaft of light that came from the open door shone on the ground, revealing nothing more but the room.

"…Axel?" Sora questioned, now entering the room, his eyes adjusting to the darkness.

But when he came in, he only found the man asleep, sprawled out on the bed breathing quietly. A strange feeling ran through his mind, and he picked up the sheets that had been tossed off the bed. Placing them over Axel, he suddenly froze as a scorching hot pain ran through him.

Tripping over and falling to the floor, he lay there, moaning as the pain subsided, but continued nagging at him. He opened his eyes several minutes later.

The man he had fought at the castle, why was he remembering new things about him?

They had fought before. That was what his thoughts had told him. He had fought him. But he still wasn't sure why. It was something about Namine…

The pain had brought him memories somehow.

What was going on?

Behind him, Axel stirred. A flame trickled from his hand, raced down off the bed and shot towards Sora. Reacting, Sora saw the flame in time and jumped back, just to have the fire plunge foreword again. Slamming the door shut, hoping the flame wouldn't come out, Sora grabbed Roxas, who was the nearest to him. By the time he had gotten back from the control room to Axel's room, there was a huge scorch mark forming on the other side of the door.

"Uh…Roxas, why don't YOU try to do something?" Sora asked, bowing gracefully before sliding away.

"What!" Roxas squealed, but opened the door. A flame burst out at him like an angry lion, but was deflected in time by Sora's Keyblade.

"Axel! What are you doing in there?" Sora screamed as the fire began glowing even more. The entire room was rolling with flames, the embers trickling upwards to the roof of the room. Axel was surprisingly sleeping through the entire thing, not realizing that the fire was even there.

Several seconds later, Sora found himself flying through the air as Roxas returned with a fire extinguisher that seemed to have a mind of its own, and was squirting in different directions. Finally the fire was gone, and Axel's 'room', if that was what one could call it, was left drowning in white puffs of the fire extinguisher.

When Axel finally woke up, he got a good talking to from both boys, who looked extremely ticked. Axel, not remembering what had happened, stared only confusedly at them. Both began yelling even louder and furiously after that.

---------------------

"This isn't Disney Castle either…" Sora muttered as they flew past another planet rolling with vegetation.

Swearing loudly, Riku slammed a fist onto a table. "When are we getting there? We've been flying for two or three days now! When are we getting there?"

"Patience!" Sora said sage like. "Young grasshopper, you have yet to gain the art of…patience…"

Sora received a hit on the head, and began bawling angrily before nearly crashing into an asteroid.

"Fine. The next place we go to, we stop for a break." Sora finally obliged to Riku's intensely loud protests.

To their surprise, a planet appeared in sight in no time, and Sora steered closer. The 'planet' was covered in clouds and water. For a second, a flash of light illuminated in Riku and Sora's brains all the way in the back of their heads. _Destiny Islands?_ The voice asked uncertainly, but were unheard by both boys.

As they got even closer, they plunged through the clouds and landed ungracefully…

…in the middle of the ocean…

"Oh GREAT Sora, just GREAT. Out of ALL the places you had to land us, we end up in the middle of the OCEAN!" Riku nearly exploded, trying to control his anger, but losing the fight.

To their mass relief, the Gummi Ship was suddenly carried by a wave and into a beach. To their disappointment, most of the door was blocked off by sand. But as Namine and Kairi went towards the windows, just coming out of bed after the 'crash', they noticed several people staring back up.

"Hey, there are people out there." Namine pointed out.

"Well, DUH, Captain Obvious." Kairi teased.

After several minutes of digging through sand, the six exited the ship to be greeted by many curious people.

Sora began drabbling about why they came, but Axel's eyes were only on the crowd. Well, in particular…one person in the crowd.

A small boy about Sora's current age was standing in the midst of the people, a look of distaste in his eyes. But what surprised Axel most was how familiar he looked…

_Like Zexion…_

The boy suddenly turned around and stalked off into the growth of the forest nearby, nobody really noticing him leave.

Bending over to Riku, he whispered: _"_Hey, don't get all over reactive or anything, but I need to go somewhere. I probably won't be back for a bit, but make sure Sora doesn't go crazy."

Riku only nodded, not really caring. Axel quietly moved around the crowd and into the growth where he had seen the mini Zexion vanish.

---------------------

Zexion's footprints were hard to trace. The boy had cleverly hidden his trail by getting rid of his tracks the best he could. But of course, Axel noticed where he had pushed plants aside and where branches had been broken and all. Traveling even deeper into the forest, the undergrowth grew thicker, blacking out the sun mostly. He finally reached a clearing, where he saw a tiny figure bent next to a tree. Walking quietly over, he suddenly snapped a branch, flinched, and suddenly found himself flying into the air the next second, ensnared in rope.

"What the…" he growled, getting up from his tangled prison.

Looking down, he saw the real Zexion enter the clearing and stare up at him carelessly.

"Well, what's this?" he muttered to himself before moving the fake Zexion, which turned out to be a dummy, away. "Looks like I finally caught something."

_…This Zexion has a freak sense of entertainment…_ Axel thought, sweatdropping.

"Now…what to do, what to do…" the younger boy was now pacing back and forth, muttering quietly and inaudibly to himself. "It would have been better if I caught an animal though…"

_What? He's comparing me to ANIMALS!_ Axel thought infuriated. _And plus, how can a kid capture me?_

Remembering something suddenly, he grinned and placed a hand to the rope. The rope began smoking until a hole burned through, and exploded through the whole net. Axel fell to the ground gracefully somehow, startling Zexion who turned around.

"You think you can – "

Axel's sentence was never finished, as Zexion suddenly threw a fist sized rock at him, hitting his head. No blood came out.

_I must feel real unreal. Wonder why…_

But nonetheless, the rock hurt, and he staggered over slightly. This gave Zexion the chance to do something twice as worse. Taking a piece of fruit from a tree, which happened to be tomato red, he threw it skillfully at Axel's face.

Not screaming, but growing even more furious by the second, Axel found wet dripping fruit bits all over his face. His face began turning red, in fact, as red as the fruit itself.

He felt blood trickle down his face.

Well now he was feeling the effects of the rock…how fun...

Zexion wasn't done though. In fact, he now began pelting fruits even more relentlessly, totally staining Axel's coat more than it needed. After all, it was already dirty from his swimming in the lake when he had first come. He found himself moving backwards quickly, until he finally found the boy right up in his face, suddenly pushing him with considerable force into a steel cage. _Alright, where the heck did he get a steel cage?_ Axel thought confusedly.

"Ok, now that that's done with…" Zexion said suddenly, walking away from where Axel stood, infuriated at being beaten by a kid.

Of course, he still had tricks up his sleeve, didn't he?

"Geez…" Axel growled to himself. "Stupid kid…"

His chakrams formed without warning, and he found himself slashing through the steel bars with ease. This time Zexion was far from prepared. Axel was already down on him, knocking to the floor with one blow. A large bruise formed where he had been hit, but in that second Axel was pulling his weapon back, Zexion was up again, kicking him in the shins.

"Oh-" Axel shouted as the mini Zexion began punching him in the stomach.

Finally, he deflected a blow with his chakram, and slashed downwards at him. There was a gag, and Zexion fell to the floor, a wound down his arm, not fatal, but definitely a bad one.

"Zexion!" Axel suddenly blurted, and was down at the boy's side.

The boy only glared at him, tried to get up, but fell back down.

"How do you know my name?" he spat in disgust, holding his arm away from Axel, who had reached for it.

A thousand answers ran through his head. He could lie. He could tell him that a villager told him. He could tell the truth. He could have him think he was crazy though.

_Then again, lots of people think I'm weird already…_ he thought, and turned towards Zexion, who was now wiping his wound off with his shirt.

"…Uh…I knew you in our last life…" Axel tried to explain, only to get a stare from Zexion. "Ok, yeah, I'm crazy. So what? I'm telling the truth!"

Zexion continued staring at him and suddenly got up, leaving.

_Wait. Where's he going? I'm not letting a punk like him leave after damaging my pride and dignity!_ Axel thought, now enraged once more, his blood boiling. _Or I could just prove to him my worth…yes, much more easy._

Swooping down on the smaller boy, he grabbed him and went flying through the air. Zexion wriggled and struggled in Axel's grip.

"Let go!" he hissed, and Axel obliged. At least, after swooping high up in the air and then dropping him.

Screaming in his fall, Zexion began to fall to the floor just to be caught again.

"You idiot! What do you think you're doing!" he growled, twisting around once more.

"Doing what you say." Axel laughed, and ducked under a tree branch, arriving at the beach before landing down on the sand.

Zexion brushed himself off, stared at the blood for a moment, and ignored it the best he could. They were on the other side of the island, and there probably was no nurse or something anyways. Pulling out a potion that he had nabbed off of a drawer, he looked at Zexion warily before approaching him.

Zexion flinched when he felt his cold fingers lock on to his left arm where he had gotten hurt, but he didn't struggle, seeing what it did to him last time. His fingers ran down the bloody wound, applying the liquid at the same time. A cool sensation ran down his arm, and he shivered.

Looking up, he saw Axel was not staring at him, but somewhere far off in the distance.

Zexion looked quietly down again. Axel looked down now at him.

"I know I might sound out of place, not knowing you currently and all…" Axel said thoughtfully. Zexion looked up, his lone eye staring back. "Do you remember that castle, with all the white, and the thirteen floors? Do you remember anything from the past about a boy named Sora? Or perhaps, even Riku? Do you remember me, or Roxas, or anyone else? Do you remember Kingdom Hearts?"

The words came out so fast, and Zexion only stared. _White castle. Thirteen floors. Sora. Riku. Roxas. Kingdom Hearts- _

A crimson slash erupted in his brain. He fell to the ground, screaming. Axel grabbed him and held a hand to his head unwillingly. The pain suddenly went away, and Axel found himself staring at his hand, which was glowing red.

Zexion was gasping quietly on the floor.

"Remember anything?" Axel asked curiously.

Zexion panted several times before replying.

"White…castle…thirteen…floors…Riku…and…Sora…Castle Oblivion." He replied. "I…I don't know…how I…know…this…but I just remembered…what was the last…word you said?"

"Kingdom Hearts?" Axel asked questioningly.

"Nope." Zexion looked away embarrassedly suddenly. "I guess…I shouldn't have overreacted when I saw all you people…" now looking at the waves lapping at the beach, he continued, "I mean, I have this strange fear for outsiders. I get a whiff of their scent, I smell all these strange things. I ask my parents if they smelled funny things, but they always said no. It's just that, I smell an outsider's scent, and I'm overwhelmed with thoughts. I smell hopes, desperations, battles, and desires. I don't understand why, but I'm the only one like that. I'm the only one weird."

Zexion stopped, but suddenly continued again. "That's the first time I've said so much."

But Axel had ignored him.

"But you're not alone." Axel replied. "I know there's more of us out there. To be precise, probably eleven more to be precise."

Zexion stared in confusion at him. Axel laughed.

"How did I get out of the nets? How did I get out of the cage? Did you ever wonder that?"

He held out his chakram, which he had kept out.

"And how did I get these weapons with me inside that cage?"

Zexion was now gaping at him.

"It's not magic. It's our souls. I'm sure in this world however, you aren't the Zexion I know." Axel ended abruptly before lifting Zexion up to his feet. The sun was now hovering over the ocean in a sunset.

"We better get going. Before anyone starts to worry."

Axel plucked Zexion up and jumped through the air, until he glided to the north side of the beach where the Gummi Ship had landed. However, there was nobody there, except for Riku who was sleeping near the Gummi Ship.

Placing Zexion to the ground, he walked towards Riku and snapped his fingers. Riku snored on. Axel kicked sand in his shoes. Riku snored even louder. Axel's patience was growing thin, so he finally stomped on his feet in a desperate attempt.

"Yagh!" Riku squawked, grabbing his foot in pain. "What was that for? Oh, it's just you Axel."

Axel saw Zexion, his brow furrowed, obviously trying to memorize the name.

"Everyone's gone to the village. It's not that far away, just a short walk across the beach. Well, I'm just staying and guarding, even if the door's locked. After all, I don't care for 'parties'." Riku yawned, stretching out and falling back to sleep.

"Then…should we go?" Axel asked, looking down at Zexion, who only nodded.

But before Axel left, Zexion already far ahead, he looked down at his hand, which was still pulsing red. What was this strange new instinct and power filling in him?

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_**Wow…I guess that's another chapter done…some more to go. Hope you enjoyed. Yes. I hope you enjoyed. I don't think I did too well on this chapter. I was in a kind of hurry. Sorry about that.**_


	6. Chapter 5: Reverse

**Lost in the Darkness: Oathkeeper

* * *

**

Chapter 5 – Reverse

Zexion led Axel to the village, not a word passing from either's mouths. Zexion opened the door of a large building and gestured for Axel to enter before going in himself and closing the door.

Inside the building, he found the rest of Riku's siblings inside with the other villagers. Sora seemed much more giddier and hyper than usual, waving madly at Axel and bouncing, or rather more like vibrating in a wooden seat next to a table, which was lined with food. Kairi and Namine were muttering about something to each other, and Roxas nearly had his face in his food from his tiredness. Axel did not know what he had gone through last night, trying to keep him in check.

An unfamiliar trembling sensation ran through his stomach, and a tiny growl emerged.

_What's this?_ He wondered.

Zexion stared at him.

"You're hungry right? Well go ahead, eat." He offered before looking away shyly.

_Oh yeah! _Axel thought stupidly. _Now I remember! We used to eat too in the Organization, except we didn't ever feel hungry…_

He froze stiff when he remembered the feelings. Zexion glanced at his direction worriedly, until Axel realized he was staring at him and quickly moved into the chair next to Sora, who was now giggling in a high-pitched voice.

"Hehehehe! Axel! It's so grooooooooovy to see you my man!" Sora squealed loudly before taking a long sip out of a suspicious-looking cup, emphasizing the word 'groovy'.

Axel only stared before nodding slowly. Sora giggled even more and slapped the Nobody hard on the back.

"Hehehehe! Do you like POTATOES!" Sora began vibrating in his chair even more, and Roxas actually managed to lift his head up before moving his chair several inches away from Sora's. "Well? WELL!"

"Uh…sure…" Axel replied uncertainly until Sora suddenly thrust a wriggling grub outward.

"THIS IS MY PET SQUIRREL! HIS NAME IS SAMUEL!" he cried loudly, now hugging the poor grub tightly.

"…I think you should take a nap, seriously." Axel suggested, and Roxas pulled his hyper brother into another room, which he assumed was a guest room.

Now 'alone' crowded near many strangers, Axel's hair on the nape of his neck stood up. It felt strange here, as if something was out of place. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

Zexion still had his sense of smell, and Marluxia still had…well…his flowers. And he still had his fire. And other things, like Marluxia…he wondered whether Zexion had other skills he had gained in the new world.

The talkative crowd suddenly fell to a hush. Namine looked out the window anxiously. Kairi whispered something to her, and she only shook her head up and down nervously.

The silence turned into murmurings and mutters. Zexion froze and turned his face to the window as well, before running out the door, nobody noticing him except Axel.

Looking around, he walked quickly out the door without anyone seeing.

Zexion was many feet ahead, which was a good thing, because he constantly looked back, and Axel was always somehow hidden behind a conveniently located tree. After a while, Zexion broke into a run, seeming to almost glide quickly across the beach sand.

Before long, Zexion entered a cave, and several minutes later, he was pulling a raft out to the entrance, before blocking the entryway with several boards as to keep the boat from drifting away, even though it was a good twelve or maybe thirteen feet away from the ocean. Axel turned his eyes back and saw the villagers flooding out the door and going high up towards the mountains. He saw Kairi, Namine, and Sora running towards the Gummi Ship.

He looked at Zexion and found him climbing up a vegetation-filled ledge before he crawled onto the top.

Then he felt the ground. It was shaking madly, and for a moment, he was convinced there was an earthquake. Several minutes later, the shaking stopped, and the beach water began to recede backwards…

"Oh cr-"

Axel never finished his sentence as an enormous wave began towering upwards. He began running towards the village, back to the Gummi Ship until he paused and looked at where Zexion was. The wave was almost as tall as the mountain he was on, and looked like it was prone to hitting him. But there was no time to be worrying about him, so he dashed on.

"Get in Axel!" Riku screamed over the din of the roaring water, pushing him in before closing the door. Several seconds later, they were up in the air, the wave slowly crashing down, nearly hitting them. Axel nearly screamed, but controlled himself as he watched the wave crash into the village, or mainly, the cliff that Zexion was on.

He gasped all of a sudden as they flew over the remains of the village. He saw a tiny raft floating through the ocean that was now sucking back the water, the tsunami over. On it, he saw a small figure sitting on it. It might have been his imagination, but it looked as if the figure was laughing in joy, before he vanished into the dark ocean.

_It had happened so quickly…_ Axel thought, still in a daze._ One second, we were probably having the time of our lives…and then that tsunami…_

Zexion had known as soon as he looked out the window. He must have felt like a captive on the island, wanting to explore new worlds…

He closed his eyes abruptly, and saw something new.

_"I want to get off of this island one day…there's nothing to do on it, and it's too…tranquil." Riku sighed._

_"That's why we made this raft." Sora added. _

_"Yeah…" Kairi sighed dreamily. _

_"Finally! We'll leave the island together, and we'll find new places to explore!" Riku exploded excitedly, and Sora grinned, along with Kairi. _

Like Sora, Riku, and Kairi?

* * *

For the last bits of night, everyone slept, including Sora, who was extremely tuckered up after his…interesting explosion of excitement on the island. 

Axel spent the rest of the night wondering what would happen to Zexion.

Was he still drifting?

Had he found land?

Thousands of thoughts rushed through his head. A part of him told him that there was nothing to worry about, another side said that he shouldn't be thinking stupid things, and the last said that there was no reason to be worrying or not.

_…But still…_

Even if their short friendship had started out rough, he was still his 'friend', and he didn't want Zexion to get hurt in any way.

"Hey, will you turn down the lights?" Sora mumbled from his bed, which was across Axel's.

They had finally obliged to let Axel sleep in their room again, Roxas saying that they could keep a better eye on him.

"…Oh…Ok." Axel replied, and closed the lamp besides his bed.

He glanced warily at Roxas, who was sleeping across the room.

He still didn't remember him.

Had he forgotten everything?

The morning came all too soon. It felt like as soon as he managed to close his eyes and sleep, Riku, who was now piloting towards a new world, sent them into one that was currently in the afternoon at the time.

Sora moaned and closed all the windows before snoozing on. Axel could no longer sleep. He got out of bed and tried to walk out the door, but he stopped when he passed Roxas, who was breathing evenly.

"Roxas…" he sighed sadly, and ran a finger through a gold lock of his hair. "Why don't you remember?"

Roxas stirred in his sleep slightly, but continued sleeping.

"Don't you remember anything?" Axel murmured quietly, still running his fingers through his hair.

Roxas rolled over slightly, and moaned silently in his sleep.

"…B…brother…don't go…" he whimpered, and clutched his covers tightly.

Axel moved his hand away before getting up and leaving.

Perhaps this brother he was talking about was the one Namine was writing about. Who the heck was he, anyways?

When he went into the restroom to check on the wound that the Neo Shadow had dealt on him, he was horrified to find it had grown into the shape of the Organization symbol. It pulsed blue, just like the way his blood did when it spattered onto the floor and crystallized.

"What is this…" he sighed exasperatedly, running his finger down his back.

He tried using a Mega Elixir in the closet, but the symbol stayed. Finally he gave up and left the room.

* * *

Outside, Riku was waking everyone up, telling them that he had found a place they could live temporarily instead of flying around every day. After all, they no longer had a home. 

"Wonder what's happening back home…" Kairi wondered aloud. "I mean, with all those weird creatures running about, I don't know if the neighborhood kids stand a chance…"

"Together they would…" Namine said. "I mean, they were a brutal force alone, and together, they're stronger."

Sora looked towards Roxas.

"Do you think everyone's ok?"

Roxas tried to think, but his memories of home seemed to be slipping away. He felt as if he was going hysterical, but he quickly brushed it off, and nodded.

_What is this? Am I forgetting bits of my memories? _

Riku was now leading them out of the Gummi Ship. The sight that greeted their eyes was incredible.

"You like it?" Riku asked proudly.

"More than that…" Sora stuttered, awe-struck.

It was a tranquil looking town, almost like the one they had left, except for the fact that the area was bright and cheerful, with plants creeping almost everywhere. Fine looking homes ran along the street, several abandoned, but in great condition. The sun sat lazily overhead…

And was hovering right over a great bell tower.

_Twilight…Town?_

Axel thought, and looked over to Roxas, searching if he remembered.

Roxas' expression was impossible to read, so he ignored him for the time.

But Roxas was remembering.

_This area looks so familiar…the sun always stays above, casting the shadows down in the same position as if it's stuck that way…twilight…_

The continuous impulses of light returned, this time with some more new memories.

_There were those weird white things that walk funny…_

_What were they called? Desks? Ducks? …Wait, Dusks! _

_And then they were attacking me…_

His eyes widened.

_And then there was Axel…?_

The memories suddenly faded away, leaving him profoundly confused.

"Come on you guys! I found a place where we can stay for several days so we can stock up on supplies – someone's been taking the elixirs, and I don't know who…" Riku continued babbling until he led them to an abandoned, but well made house, better than the one they used to stay in.

"This. Is. Perfection." Sora squealed before hopping onto an old but comfortable couch. "Riku, how did you find this place?"

Riku pondered for a second.

"I just did?" he tried.

Sora grinned.

"I could stay here forever!"

Axel stared at Roxas, who was now sitting besides Sora and trying to move him so he could have some room.

_But I couldn't. I want to go back to my regular life. I want to return. I want Roxas to return. Back to the old Roxas._

"Is there something wrong?" Riku demanded when he saw Axel's uncertain face.

"N-no!" he shouted, jumping up in surprise. "No! There's nothing wrong!"

Namine turned her head slightly to look at Axel. There was some strange memory slowly forming in her mind, like a chain linking to new memories. It had been right when Riku had asked what was wrong.

_I know that uncertain look in his face._ One side of her mind exploded. Shocked by what her mind was telling her, she looked closer at Axel's face. _I know you._ The voice hissed in her mind again.

"I know you…" she mouthed the words to herself, looking on to the floor.

Whatever her mind was telling her; it was all a lie, all a lie. There was no way she could know him. All her life had been with her brothers and her sister. That was all she remembered.

_But who is big brother?_ The voice questioned, prying into her mind again.

"Who is big brother?" she whispered.

Axel's ear almost seemed to twitch. What he had just heard, was it his imagination? He was remembering things that had never happened before now, times at a beach he never saw in his entire non-existence, a park that was now empty and barren, and a night sky, sights all unfamiliar to his eyes.

And there was Namine. He saw her being pulled away by Riku, Sora, Roxas, and Kairi. She was screaming something, but he couldn't tell. He looked over to where she was grasping to, and saw something – or someone being dragged into the lake by heartless.

"Brother!"

The screams suddenly made sense, and he looked over again to whatever was being dragged away.

"Namine!"

There was a flash of red, and he knew instantly. It was him.

They knew him. He used to know.

How could it be? He had been a nobody for all his life before he hadn't been one. What could it mean?

Memories flooded his brains, every once-empty scene suddenly filling with life before he became a nobody. The beach. It was crowded with people. And there they were. Sitting under an umbrella. He too, was with them. And the park. It was suddenly filled with animals. Namine was crying, her leg bleeding. Sora was panicking. Axel was carrying her. And the stars. They sat together at their home staring up into the night.

Even though he was still confused, everything seemed to be making sense.

"Who is little sister?" he said quietly.

Namine jolted upwards.

_Who is little sister?_ Only one person said that. She knew. Only her brother would reply that after she asked, "Who is big brother?" It had been when he had just returned home from a great battle. She had just been born, but that was when her parents died, or just left them. Roxas had explained that Axel was her big brother, and she had asked that…and Axel had looked down at her, just figuring out she was his little sister, and replied "Who is little sister?" before ruffling her hair.

It had been happy times.

But was this truly her big brother?

Riku, Sora, Kairi, and Roxas were already unpacking things into the house. But Namine stood, transfixed, wondering.

Axel had already left and was helping the others unpack.

Yes, every single movement…it was just like his…

The deft movement when he brushed a loose strand of hair aside…

The quiet cheerless sigh…

It had to be him.

The room was already filled with old belongings, the beds from the Gummi Ship, and other supplies. Kairi had found a bag, and was pleased with the contents, which was some money, and a lot of it. They split it up evenly quickly before getting to work once more.

But the same thoughts continued to bother Namine. If this was their brother, how did he get back? And why didn't he remember them? It had been around twelve years now…but would he really forget about them?

Bitter tears stung in her eyes. Was her mind only playing tricks on her to make her happy again?

* * *

Sorry for not updating quicker. It's not writer's block. It's…school… blech… 

Thank you for the reviews. It supports me alot. Thanks...


	7. Chapter 6: Broken

Lost in the Darkness – Oathkeeper 

Chapter 6 – Broken

* * *

Twilight had long since passed, and the light stars dotted the night sky. The moon hung over the town, a sliver of a crescent barely giving any light to the people still on the streets.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi had all made themselves comfortable, already sleeping quietly on their beds, their chests moving up and down slowly.

Roxas and Namine had vanished without a trace, the door still ajar from when they left, the cold night air whistling through and flowing through Axel's hair. A leaf fluttered in, ragged, hardly looking much like a leaf anymore. It flew and landed ungracefully on his foot. He made a movement to get it off, but paused when a gust of wind burst through the door, howling madly before whisking up the leaf through the open window, and out into the darkness.

Perhaps Roxas would remember him eventually.

He knew he couldn't get his hopes up too high, but there had to be a way.

_A memory…it chains to other memories…like an enormous web…when one is remembered, the chains are repaired, the web remade…perhaps Roxas has only forgotten, and will remember me…_ he thought, before his shoulders drooped considerably.

What was he thinking? If that were true, it would have happened already…

He stalked out the door, his mind troubled. And the memories, all the strange memories coming to him ever since he had rose out of the dark waters of the lake.

Staring up into the night sky, a howl of a lone dog in the streets filled the air, its voice wavering with sadness.

Bright sapphire eyes were staring up at the same sky.

Next to him, sat Namine, who was holding her hands tightly together, her eyes downcast. Her strange memories had not come again, but she was concerned why the memories had just come now. She perhaps something was up?

"I've been thinking about things lately…" Roxas suddenly cut through the silence of the night and the chirping of the crickets and cicadas.

Namine looked over at her brother, wondering what he had to say.

"What is up with all these strange happenings? We've lived in our old town for around twelve years now, and now, all these unnatural things are occurring…what did we do wrong?" he spat out the last part, his eyes burning with anger.

The sound of only Namine's breathing filled the air.

"Nobody ever knows why things choose to happen like this…" Namine said quietly. "It's not our fault. Don't worry."

She clasped Roxas' hand in hers, leaning on his shoulder.

Why doesn't he remember? 

"It's getting dark, and you're getting tired. We should get back home soon." Roxas replied, and began to get up.

A shadow suddenly tangled out of the ground, grabbing Namine and pulling her away.

"Namine!" Roxas shouted, grabbing his sister's arm tightly before stomping on the shadowy form.

The thing released its grip and fled. Roxas turned in panic.

"Come on, there's going to be more – I can feel it."

The two dashed across the street.

Several of the Heartless began to form behind them, racing after.

"This way!" Roxas shouted, pulling Namine into an alley.

Instinct flooded through his body as he suddenly found himself running up the wall and jumping over the building.

_I've been here before._

They were soaring across the night sky, their forms pale under what was left of moonlight. The Heartless clambered at the wall, shrieking angrily, before sinking through the building and going through, bringing shock to the people inside.

They only pounded on, slipping through the wall once more and chasing after the two siblings.

"Quickly!"

Before they could respond though, there was a flash of red, and a wall of flames exploded behind them. Roxas grabbed her and fell to the floor before the flames could burn them.

"Axel?" Namine struggled to get up from the ground weakly.

Roxas seemed to growl threateningly.

_He still doesn't trust him…_ Namine thought, her heart pounding against her chest.

She wanted to tell him it was all right. She wanted to tell him that their brother had returned. But then he would ask her why he didn't remember them. So she stayed silent, only watching as the Heartless were incinerated.

"Come on." Roxas said with growing distaste, getting up and stalking off. When he found Namine not moving, he stopped and stared down at her.

"Don't you remember?" She asked pleadingly. "Don't you remember all the times of peace we had before this? Don't you remember…our brother?"

"Namine, he's dead. We saw him dragged off into the lake by the Heartless. He's dead, and he's not coming back."

Namine bit her lip and fought tears. She wanted to tell him he was wrong, to tell him that their brother was back after all these years, that he was here to help. But he would just tell her Axel brought back the heartless.

For every thing she had to say, he could counter it.

She was alone. She knew things that nobody would ever believe.

_Axel is our brother._

A dark shadow appeared behind her, a dark claw reaching out and grabbing her. She screamed as she began to be dragged into a dark portal. Roxas, hearing her cry, turned in alarm and saw his sister sinking away.

"Namine!" Roxas shouted, leaping forward to grab her hand. Just as he grabbed on, his grasp was pulled away forcefully. His hand slipped out and Namine vanished into the dark.

"Namine!" he shouted, his hand slipping into the closing portal to try and grasp her arm again, but the portal closed, leaving only dark flames leaping where it had been moments ago.

Flinging himself onto the ground, he cried bitterly, tears falling to the floor uncontrollably.

The fires had vanished. The heartless had vanished. Namine. Gone.

Axel walked over from the waste of the battle and looked down at his past friend.

"It's over." Roxas said quietly. "I can't go on."

Axel stared at where a black flame flickered on the dark floor. It erupted outwards before vanishing into smoke.

* * *

Namine awoke on hard cold ground. She looked up and saw nothing but darkness.

"Roxas?" she called out into nowhere. "Axel?"

The only things she received back were laughter.

She closed her eyes.

"There's nothing."

But when she opened them, she saw the beach, where they played. Roxas grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the open waters.

"Come on, let's go!" he cried excitedly.

And then, she saw the park, where she found herself being carried away by Axel, her leg bleeding.

"Is she gonna be ok?" Riku asked, trotting behind Axel.

And then she saw night sky. A shooting star whizzed past.

"Look…" Sora said happily, grabbing Kairi's hand. Namine giggled and grabbed Sora's other hand. And then it vanished.

She was in darkness once more. A figure emerged from the shadows.

"Well look what we have here." A mocking voice laughed. "Namine."

"Don't get too cocky Vexen." A deeper voice said from behind.

"Oh shut up Lexaeus, give me my time to shine." The man, Vexen, who looked like a girl in Namine's eyes spat. "Well, we didn't get our intentional target, but this will do for the time. MARLUXIA!"

"He's dressed up in that pink tutu you gave him for Christmas. You really shouldn't have." The man Lexaeus sighed as he appeared out of the dark. "I don't think we want him here now, he'll traumatize the girl."

Unfortunately, Marluxia suddenly came skipping in, wearing what looked like a ballerina outfit (don't ask where I got this), tossing roses wherever he went.

"Vexy-kun!" he sang, before receiving a hard blow on the head. "Ow! What was that for?" he growled, his outfit melting out and turning into his regular attire. "What's wrong with a bit of fun?"

"Everything." Vexen snapped before pulling Namine up forcefully. "Take her to the spare room, and keep her there. We'll wait for the others to come."

Marluxia grinned goofily and grabbed Namine before whisking her away.

"I don't know if that was a good idea…" Lexaeus said uncertainly, as thousands of flower petals tumbled down from where Marluxia had vanished.

"Well neither do I." Vexen said. "But I'm too lazy to do it, and you'll probably knock her over like the oaf you are."

_Oaf!_ Lexaeus thought, obviously hurt.

"But I'm _not_ an oaf! Ask Saix! He knows!" Lexaeus protested.

"Too bad, I'm too lazy to call him over as well." Vexen declared, vanishing into the darkness and leaving behind the upset Lexaeus.

Namine had been left in the room for several minutes now. A single lamp illuminated the room, her figure casting a small shadow onto the floor. Cold wind blew in through an unseen opening, and no sound came out except for the gust's whistling.

For several more minutes, she sat, until she became drowsy and fell to sleep.

When she woke up, she still only saw darkness.

That is, until she found her chin pointed towards a very sharp looking scythe. And it was pink.

"Joy." She sighed as she inched her face away from the blade.

She looked to her left and right and found her arms and legs chained to the wall. And she saw a small light from a room in front of her.

"Vexen! Why did you take my scythe?" a loud and upset voice shouted from inside the room.

"Because…you called me Vexy-kun, and you were dressed up in that obnoxious pink outfit."

"B-but it's not fair to take my scythe away! And Vexy-Kun is a very hip name."

There was a slap, and a loud squeal.

The voices soon faded away, and Namine assumed they were leaving. She struggled to move slightly, but found her arms tightly bound.

Her feet however…

* * *

Roxas laid the blame on Axel.

Axel was surprised that this would happen.

Kairi suggested to the others that Roxas was just broken, because Namine was the closest one to him in their family. But Roxas refused to leave the closet he was seeking refuge in. For the first day, Axel left to search for Namine without telling anyone. When he returned, he had a deep cut down his arm, but nobody saw it since he had hastily gone and changed into a new cloak, as his old one was cut as well. Roxas had not come out for the entire day. In fact, there was no sound coming out from the closet, only quiet breathing. Sora suggested he go console him, but Riku thought against it.

Axel knew their trust was slipping out of his grasp. Soon he would be an annoyance, and they would probably gang up on him. Maybe in his sleep.

The thought somehow made him laugh. He stopped quickly. He realized it had been a very long time since he had felt the emotions return.

The second day began. Roxas still had not come out. Axel left once more.

A bright morning sun shone above the town, beckoning for activity to begin. Axel squinted through the light into the far distance of the town.

_Little sister is waiting for you._

"Namine is not my sister." Axel said quickly to himself, trying to stay in reality.

He began his walk to the end of town. When he arrived there, he saw himself staring into a long blue lake, almost like an ocean. Except for there were cliffs on the other side. And as well as that, it was continuously surrounded by land. A breath of wind whistled through his hair.

_Something is on the other side, waiting for me._

"She's not my sister." Axel said furiously again, stomping into the water.

The water was not very deep. It only went up to his ankles at first, but after a few long minutes of wading through, it was now up to his knees.

"Great." He spat in fury, but continued moving.

But as he continued his decent into the lake, he found himself getting lower, and lower, and even lower than lower.

As well as that…

"What am I doing this for?" he sighed to himself. "If I keep on going, I'll only drown or something…"

He froze, and remembered what had happened several days ago.

Yes. He had emerged from water. But how _did_ he get into the water in the first place?

He turned and began running twice as fast as he had before, his movements hindered by the water.

A fishlike Heartless emerged out from the ocean and began swimming rapidly after him. Several Shadow Heartlesses appeared on the shoreline.

Axel hesitated. If he went forward, he would probably end up getting swallowed by heartless. But if he turned around, Mr. Fishy would attack.

To his surprise, he chose Mr. Fishy. Summoning his chakrams, he jumped into the air before flinging them down onto the round fish below. It shrieked in anger before exploding, and he began his trek into the water again, now running instead of walking. Several of the Shadow Heartlesses ventured into the water, some of them receding in nervousness, but others still chased after.

The water was now at his chest, and his cloak was getting in the way. The heartless, on the other hand, were gaining.

He began to run faster than before, and suddenly felt the floor under him vanish. It was just water now.

_Swim you idiot! _He shouted to himself as he found his arms and legs unmoving.

He was sinking; his face was hardly above the water anymore. He took a gasp of breath just to feel himself being dragged down.

The area became dark, and he felt the last bits of air fall out of his mouth.

* * *

Namine awoke. She had been resting for several hours after she had been struggling to move the scythe towards her. She had gotten extremely close.

The scythe was nearing her hand now. She only needed to kick it over at the right timing so it would chop her shackles apart.

But if she missed…her arm would be cut off.

She looked down at her legs. Their bindings were only crude looking knots, unlike the steel cuffs at her arms. They would be easy to unbind.

Namine stared around.

Nobody was here. She edged her foot slowly towards the scythe.

Her foot was getting closer and closer…

And then, her leg slipped suddenly as someone opened the door, and the scythe went down on her.

She gave a wince of pain as the stinging sensation shot through her arm. The scythe clattered to the floor, a warm drop of blood trickling down her hand. A single spot of blood was lined on the edge of its blade.

"No need to struggle, it'll only hurt you in the end." Vexen's cold voice floated into the room. "Don't you want to see your little friends?"

Namine struggled even more, the blood still coming out.

"Resisting huh? It really won't do you any good." His voice drawled out, stalking over and picking up the scythe. "And trying to escape. Don't worry, your friends will try and save you. But they'll only be running into a trap. And you'll be the one to blame."

Vexen laughed as he left, swinging the scythe around just to be hit ungracefully with its end.

"OW!"

And he vanished into the dark, leaving Namine alone once more.

* * *

**_I guess…that was a bit fast. The fan fiction server must have been down because I posted the fifth chapter several (2) days ago, but I only received the alert just yesterday. Oh well. So this might seem a bit messy, but I try not to let that happen. The rest of the time for now might be re-editing some parts. Now that I read over some things, I feel the sudden urge to change things. Oh well. It is good to edit sometime._**

**_Thanks for the reviews! I appreciate it a lot! _**


	8. Chapter 7: Storm of Love and Hate

Lost in the Darkness: Oathkeeper 

Chapter 7 – Storm of Love and Hate

* * *

Dawn. Namine awoke. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light shining down on her.

_Bright light?_

Her eyes widened. Where was she? She wasn't in the dark room…

She turned her head and saw Sora sleeping quietly near her. Riku was lopsided by the doorway, and Kairi was on the couch. Roxas was staring at her.

"Namine?" he whispered, reaching a hand out towards her. "What happened?"

Namine was quiet. She was kidnapped…and she didn't remember anything that had happened…well…she remembered she tried to escape…but everything else was a blur.

"Namine…" Roxas looked at her quietly.

"I don't know…" she replied, looking down. "Everything's so confusing…"

She looked up again. "Where's Axel?"

"He's here."

At that moment, Axel appeared into the room.

"Namine?" he said confusedly. "What happened? I was…I went to find you…and then the Heartless…and the water…"

Namine looked away quietly. She remembered now. She remembered the people in the black coats, and what they had her do. She had betrayed her family.

"It was just your imagination." She replied quickly. "It was just all a bad dream, and it'll go away. Trust me."

When Riku, Sora, and Kairi awoke, they looked at them as if they had been there all that time.

"Hey Namine! What's up for this morning?" Sora asked cheerfully, bounding up to her like a puppy, blinking excitedly.

Namine didn't know what to say.

"Uh…I was going to…um…"

"Axel, do you want to help me get the rest of the stuff out of the Gummi Ship?" Riku asked, staring at him. "You don't have to, but Sora's too lazy to do anything. Roxas…uh, I don't know about Roxas."

Axel stared blankly. Didn't they remember that he had gone? Didn't they remember that Namine had been kidnapped?

He turned his head towards Namine. Something was up.

_He knows…_ Namine thought quietly. _It will only be a matter of seconds…_

Axel did not know. But he had an assumption.

"Traitor." He hissed under his breath, grabbing Namine by the neck.

Namine didn't struggle. It was only natural for him to feel betrayed. Sora snapped up frantically from where he was sitting. Roxas shot a glance at Riku, who was already up with his Souleater. The three surrounded him, but he didn't seem to notice. The only feelings he had now were rage.

"What are you doing?" Kairi gasped, but Riku only motioned her to get out of the house.

The emotions were now swimming rapidly in his head. They were confusing, blinding him.

_I'm going mad…_ he thought. _I can't let the emotions overwhelm._

The feelings grew stronger though. Every single memory blinded him. He was gone now…and what was left of him was a bezerk shell.

"You couldn't have unlocked that by yourself. What did they do to you? What do they want?" he growled, his grip tightening on her throat.

Namine squirmed slightly, and Riku lunged forwards with a snarl of disgust.

The blade went down, and hit its target. Axel froze for a moment, feeling a trickle of blood seep down before it stopped and receded.

"What?" Riku pulled out the Souleater.

Axel dropped Namine, his hands turning cold. She fell onto the ground, where Roxas scrambled over quickly and pulled her away. Kairi peered from outside the window.

Axel stared at his hand in revulsion. What was he doing? He had no proof whatsoever that Organization XIII had nothing to do with her remembering how to fiddle with memories. But it was too much of a coincidence if she had remembered by herself. Sora and Riku were now holding their Keyblades outwards in a threatening position.

"No…" he whispered to himself. A cold sensation rushed down his back, which was followed by searing pain.

"Look." Roxas pointed. The Nobody symbol now glowed red, burning through the coat on the top of his back, near his shoulders.

"Nobody." Sora said.

_I can't stay. The dreams I had. I have to get out of here. And Roxas…He'll be gone if I stay here too. _

A force inside of him erupted, and the house exploded into flames.

"Get out!" Riku ordered, grabbing Namine and pulling her out.

Roxas stood, frozen, in the midst of flames. The names of the Nobodies. The names engraved on that monument. The Thirteenth Order. Axel.

Everything was returning.

"Axel!" Roxas screamed over the roar of the flames.

But Axel was no longer there. Only nobody.

A chakram sliced down on him, cutting a deep gash through his back. He choked and froze as the pain ripped through his body, and cold realization washed through him.

He was remembering. And Axel was forgetting.

"Roxas!" Namine shouted from outside. "Get out of there!"

But the pain froze him, leaving him bound to where he stood. Axel emerged out of the flames, the intent of killing in his eyes.

Riku burst into the house, brandishing the Souleater.

"What are you doing?" he shouted at Axel, and received a flaming chakram for his troubles.

Deflecting the weapon, he advanced into the room.

"Roxas! Move!" he shouted as Axel appeared behind him, sending a wall of flames at him.

Roxas froze, before running towards the door. A burst of flames stopped him from getting across.

Riku swore furiously before swinging the Souleater at Axel. Every blow was deflected. Axel now advanced on him, attacking without hesitation. The blows were parried. Each and one of them.

But Riku was in Axel's terrain now. He could slip in and out of the flames without warning, and strike.

Sora had sent a stream of ice at the fire, washing it away momentarily so Roxas could escape. Riku took that opportunity to get out of the house as well.

"Sora, do that again." He commanded.

Sora nodded and pointed his Keyblade at the house.

"Blizaraga!"

Ice crept up the house, exterminating any flame. The house continued to freeze up until it reached the top.

The rumble of far distant thunder called. The sky was darkened.

"Despair." Roxas said quietly to himself.

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, and a single flame leapt up from the house.

"No!" Sora shouted.

Axel emerged from the icy house, his mind blurred with a strange anger, one he didn't understand or control.

The ice melted down, and the house exploded into flames. The downpour of rain began, the sound deafening.

"Namine! Kairi! Get out of here!" Riku demanded, the three falling into battle stances.

Kairi was quick to react. Namine stood in the rain, her hair sopping down.

_It was my fault. I threw our old life away to understand the truth. The truth…it was best to be left alone…_

Kairi grabbed her arm and the two ran towards the Gummi Ship.

"You're only throwing your lives away," Axel commented, as he stood straighter. "I suppose you give up now, and let me have Namine."

"Why do you want her now?" Roxas shouted. "Do you think you can change the past? Do you think you can _live_ again?"

"What are you talking about?" Sora turned to Roxas. What did his brother know that he didn't know?

"I see nobody else remembers yet." Axel lowered his chakrams slightly. "Didn't you see? The moment you woke up? Namine was different. She was kidnapped, and you forgot. Because…she made you forget."

"Huh?" Sora questioned aloud again. Riku was already remembering strange things now.

"Namine can manipulate our memories." He whispered, clenching his fist. "But she did it for a cause. What was it?"

Axel grinned, sending a shiver down their spines. "She was influenced by several members of the Thirteenth Order. She wanted nothing but the truth. She wanted to know whom we truly were inside. She wanted to know about the Nobodies. She wanted to be whole."

Sora cocked his head. "I still don't get it."

"You're kind of slow, aren't you?" Axel commented before continuing. "She is a Nobody. She is like Roxas and I. We only want to be whole, to return to our original bodies."

"But what about manipulating memories?" Riku growled, feeling dislike for Axel more and more.

"Oh, that was just so we could forget that she was kidnapped, so she could hide her true intentions." He replied smoothly. "She was kidnapped, she found the few members of the Thirteenth Order. They gave her a deal. She could learn her abilities as a manipulator of memories, help you regain your memories, and…" Axel's grin seemed to widen. "…She would return to them after erasing your memories. It will go back to the way it was…"

He froze suddenly. The pounding white light in his head…

_If you truly want to return to the way it was…_

_Kill them…Return with Roxas and Namine…_

_The true intention shall be revealed._

"Ok, now I'm really confused." Sora said, wobbling around slightly.

"There shall be no more need for explanation." Axel suddenly said robotically. "Your deaths shall bring the way it once was…I want it to be that way."

"Axel, what are you doing?" Roxas questioned as the other man went into his battle stance. "Are you mad?"

Axel turned his head towards him.

"Yes. I am."

The chakrams flew towards him, and he held up his hands. A bright light formed between them, and the two Keyblades appeared. There was a flash and a flurry of sparks as he swiftly blocked the attacks.

"We don't' have to fight!" he shouted.

"Oh, but we do!" Axel replied, swooping down on him, the chakrams returning to his hands.

Riku jumped up and thrust his Souleater down towards Axel. Roxas thrust his forwards to meet the target. In one split second, Axel had rotated around and blocked both attacks.

"What?" Riku spat. "Sora!"

Sora leapt towards Axel, swinging his Keyblade down.

"Can't block that!"

But before anyone could react, an explosion of flames formed around him, creating a protective barrier.

The three were sent flying backwards. Roxas met the wall, and he felt the sound of his back cracking. He coughed, and a bit of blood came out. Riku fell to the ground, but balanced himself before he collapsed. Sora had managed to jump back in time, but was now being attacked fiercely by Axel.

The first few blows were parried, but Axel swiftly moved the chakrams down and slashed at his leg. Sora fell backwards, but was caught by Riku, who jumped into battle, purple shadows wrapping around him, transforming him into his Dark Mode.

Axel was totally unprepared now, and was hit face-first with a Dark Firaga. He recovered almost instantly, and sent a wall of flames towards Riku, who jumped above the flames and thrust the Souleater down. The sharp blade went down, hit, and moved back up, just to hit once again.

"DARK BREAK!"

Axel found himself falling to the floor as the Souleater came down for continuous attacks. The pain became overwhelming, and the area was getting dark. The red symbol of the Nobody began to burn even more.

Axel swung around and threw his Chakrams at Riku, who fell to the floor as they hit home.

Roxas was now leaping towards him, with Sora, bloodied, but recovered.

The two swung their Keyblades downwards at the same time, the wet rainwater splashing outwards as they struck, Axel thrusting his chakrams forward to block. A roar of thunder and a clash of thunder illuminated the street.

Riku had recovered now and was racing across a wall towards their new enemy. The lightning clashed once more, and Riku's chalk-white form was down on Axel, the Souleater piercing into him. Roxas and Sora had been knocked back by the chakrams that he held, spread apart from his body. But now, everything was still, except for the explosions of thunder and the flashes of lightning. As if time had stopped, Riku felt the Souleater slip out.

_Is it over?_

Axel suddenly snapped back up like a wooden mannequin. Sora shuddered. Watching him…made him feel nervous.

In a second, Axel was suddenly behind Roxas, the chakram pressed to his neck. Roxas knew this wasn't Axel. There was a cold aura around him, the cold intent of killing.

At that moment, Riku and Sora jumped up and almost seemed to glide across the street and thrust their Keyblades into him at the same time. Roxas gave a gasp of pain as the chakram slipped out from Axel's grip for one moment, and felt the cold sharp edge of it hit his neck.

"Roxas!" Sora shouted above the falling rain.

"I-I'm ok!" Roxas winced, the pain tingling. A small trickle of dark fluid fell from his neck, but he wiped it and stood in his battle stance.

Riku was already attacking, suddenly jumping up into the air, his Souleater pointing towards the heavens before he vanished, and reappeared suddenly, slashing the Souleater at Axel. The sleeve shredded off as he nearly hit Axel. He vanished once more, and reappeared, aiming the Souleater at him again. This time it struck his other arm, sinking in slightly before drawing out again, a stream of blood following the Souleater. Axel was now wary of Riku. He suddenly reappeared again, and the darkened blood-tipped Souleater flashing downwards. The chakram swung forwards and the attack was stopped.

"What?" Riku's breath came in short as he fell to the floor. Axel laughed and swung the chakrams down, once, twice, and more.

Riku gave a gasp of pain as he felt wounds opening.

"No!" Sora shouted and lunged at Axel.

Riku lay there in the rain, the water washing through his wounds. He struggled to get up, but when he did, he saw Sora falling, and then Roxas leaping forwards to attack.

There was a bright clash of their weapons, and a flash of light and Roxas was sailing through the air before falling to the ground with a sickening thump.

Axel's chakrams shined brightly with their blood, his gaunt figure breathing heavily as if he had not had enough to kill.

Sora's Keyblade was knocked far across from him, and Riku was still trying to get up.

"A-Axel…" Roxas choked, slumping to the floor. "D-Don't do this…"

Axel's grin was now maniacal. His eyes were widened, his breath uneven.

"I don't care anymore. It's much better here, with all three of you dying. Next shall be your sisters. Your struggle to escape the Thirteenth Order is over." Axel's hand dropped one bloody chakram, and he held that hand up. A bright fire exploded in it, a strange purple-blue color.

"Y-You don't have to d-do this! Don't throw yourself away -" Roxas coughed on his blood, his body weakening slowly.

The flame grew darker.

_Don't throw yourself away. It isn't your destiny. Reverse your pains and sorrows. Restart. DON'T THROW YOURSELF AWAY!_

Axel felt Riku's blade hit his leg. He fell to the floor, the flame engulfing him suddenly. Yet he didn't feel anything. He felt one thing though. That it was destined this way for it to end.

"I won't die today." Axel said, his figure melting into flames. "I won't let what happened today happen again."

Roxas was getting up weakly.

"Axel…I…This wasn't how…"

"I'm not like how I was anymore. I'm fine." Axel breathed. A pain flowed through his head. He was confused of what had happened…but he knew it was like his dream…except…what force had made him not kill Roxas?

"I know Axel…and I forgive you…even if you nearly did kill us all…it's understandable about how bad you felt, being betrayed in a sense…even I don't understand what's going on fully…" Roxas sighed, sinking slightly. "But I know this isn't the end…this isn't the second life. We'll meet in the real one…"

He extended his bloody hand outwards.

"Promise?"

Axel stopped, the fires still slowly engulfing him. He had nearly killed them due to some unknown bezerk power. He didn't want to accept the fact. He didn't want to hurt Roxas anymore. But Roxas remembered. And that was all that mattered.

He held a burning hand towards him.

"Promise."

The flames didn't touch Roxas. They melted away as they touched.

And slowly, the darkness receded, the sun piercing a single hole through the clouds. He felt every single part of him flow away slowly. But he knew they'd meet again. The flame burst and exploded before vanishing. The ashes fluttered off into the breeze together.

"We'll meet again…I promise…" Roxas whispered.

For a second, the wind blew past him fiercely, the sky growing bluer ever minute.

_I'm sorry…Roxas…I promise…_

And Roxas looked up towards the sky. Sora and Riku were recovering, dazed, but alive.

_Maybe…_

"W…what just happened?" Riku moaned.

"My question exactly – what the!" Sora looked down and saw the many battle scars.

"Roxas! What just happened?"

But Roxas only looked towards the bright blue day.

_Thank you Namine…

* * *

_

_It was completely dark at first. But then, as he felt himself rising from the dark depths, light filtered from above. He turned his head slowly to the right and saw nothing but the darkness. A small shaft of light cut through the dark, and he stared back up. His red hair flowed behind him as he felt himself drift upwards. The light got brighter as he moved slowly upwards, until he suddenly felt himself jerk upwards._

_There was a splash, and the cold air hit him. _

Water_. He thought. His next instinct was to get out, but he found himself being carried by the waves. Then he felt himself hit hard ground, and saw brown particles of sand. _

_A beach. Then he felt a small shadow move over him. He tried to look up, but he was too tired to do so, and fell into a sleep._

**To Be Continued

* * *

**

**Dangit. Lameness. I sucked. Because of stress, I suppose. Sorry my disappointed readers.**

**There will be a sequel, so keep your eyes peeled. Thanks for reading… sob **

**(BTW it will be more chapters because it's gonna be heck long)**


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